


shy like a kurinji flower

by natigail



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Anxiety, Families of Choice, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, M/M, Magic, Panic Attacks, Polyamory, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 34,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natigail/pseuds/natigail
Summary: Virgil wanders. He wanders and he wanders and he never lets himself put roots down anywhere. He is sure no one would want someone like him around. Not only is he a witch in hiding but he’s gay on top of it. Two things that the world largely disapproves of. But then one day, he wanders into a town that sends him on an errand to a little witch village and into the home and hearts of three other witches. Virgil both wants to run away and stay forever.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton
Comments: 72
Kudos: 194





	1. Believe in your heart

**Author's Note:**

> It has been too long since I've written a Sanders Sides AU, so please enjoy this where I geek out over our core four as witches and try writing polyamory for the first time.

Virgil was a wanderer.

It was not by choice exactly. He was not on some spiritual journey of enlightenment, even if he had used that as an excuse on more than on occasion when strangers keep pestering him for why he enters their town.

He never entered anyone’s town on purpose. He just walked and towns popped up along the way. He didn’t pick them. He just let his feet carry him forward. He offered to help with odd jobs around town, ideally menial work that would require time over actual skill. It wasn’t that he liked that kind of work, but there was something calming about repetitive motions, something that could make his brain zero in on and focus. And when it got him into a bed and food in his stomach, then it was alright by him.

It’s not much but at least it is honest and simple work.

Virgil tried not to think about his wasted college credits. Full of prestige if he had only been able to stick it out under the pressure and hang in there to actually finish it. When he’s being grumpy and self-deprecating, it was easy to forget that the degree probably would have finished Virgil before he had finished it with how he had felt when he had been enrolled.

He was a drop-out, shunned by his family because of the blood that ran through his veins. The magic. The thing all of them had ignored growing up, treated like a vile and dirty secret. Something Virgil was meant to keep a lid on. Just like his sexuality. It got too much.

It didn’t seem to matter that the world is becoming more friendly to gay and queer people of all sorts or that witches are no longer hiding away in the shadows. None of that really matters when you have a bigoted family who saw parts of your identity as a mutation, something gone wrong with their otherwise bright and sweet son.

Virgil never had the guts to tell them that he had _always_ been both a witch and gay. He hated like when they talked about it like it was a recent development. He had been like this from the moment he had been born. Just because he hadn’t always known, or when he had discovered it, it had become a shameful secret, didn’t mean that he was ever anything different.

He knew saying so would just have resulted in a slap across his cheek, or worse.

Getting into college had been Virgil’s way out. An escape. He had lasted two years before the constant academic pressure had gotten to him, and his anxiety had become entirely too unmanageable. When he had started to have more days with panic attacks than not, it had been too much.

He might have been able to seek help for it, if his anxiety hadn’t been connected directly to his magic ability. Virgil was sure that it would be bad news if anyone made to connection between his poor mental health and his ability to spontaneously produce storms and lightening. They would see him as a threat. Something to be contained. Restrained.

Virgil had wanted none of that, so now he was a wanderer.

He had been on the road for months, maybe even a year. He knew that winter had come and gone, and spring had left a warm bloom over the land. The air was growing hotter and more humid now, so summer must be approaching. It was astonishing how little Virgil cared about time and dates now that everything but night and day was a blur.

He walked or did work during the day and he slept in a bed or under the open sky during the night. It was a simple life and not one that brought any piece of prestige that he had longed for to rub in his family’s face. At least, Virgil’s powers and anxiety were under more control than ever before.

He took the victories with the losses.

His walk brought him into a town at the foot of a small mountain. Upon closer inspection, he realized that it wasn’t a mountain but a volcano. He assumed it was a dormant one considering both the location of the town and the small hints of a smaller cluster of houses he could spy halfway up the volcano.

Virgil had never really understood why someone dared to live so close to volcanos. Dormant or not. He felt the slightly uptick in his heartbeat, almost as familiar as his regular breathing pattern but he forced it to calm down with his repeated and rehearsed breaths. He would be okay to stay here for a couple of days, surely. The town at the very least looked old, houses with straw roofs to make matters it even worse. They would go up in flames so easily. Yet everyone moved through the streets like they didn’t have a care in the world. Like they weren’t just one bad eruption from their lives and homes being taken away from them.

Virgil knew how that felt like.

Maybe, it was why he felt so on edge.

It was a familiar kind of terror.

Virgil stopped by the local inn as his first visit. He had arrived in town early, and the sun had not reached its top position yet. Virgil had many of hours to do work in exchange for a bed and a hot meal. If he couldn’t manage that, he wasn’t above sleeping in the barn or eating the rejected or old food either. It was better than no shelter and no food.

“Miss?” Virgil asked, moving his hood with a bit of a grimace. The tips of his hair were still colored purple, an impulse decision he had made in the thought that it would starve off the want to quit college entirely. It hadn’t. Now, Virgil had been wandering with it, as his dark roots had grown out bit by bit.

Someone in another town had cut his hair, which had been long overdue, and they had offered to color it too. Virgil had declined, even if he couldn’t say why he had made that decision exactly.

“Yes?” The innkeeper was a middle-aged woman and she had a kind and welcoming smile despite Virgil’s slightly ragged clothes and heavy bag pack. “Do you need to book a room for the night?”

“A couple of nights, if possible,” Virgil said carefully, as the woman pulled over a note pad and started making notes. Virgil felt the familiar lump of worry in the pit of his stomach, but he had gotten excellent at ignoring it. “Only, I have very little in terms of money.”

The woman looked up, brows creased lightly but she wasn’t openly hostile yet as people sometimes where when Virgil showed up, practically penniless asking for shelter.

“Okay?” she said, carefully, closing the notebook.

Virgil ducked his head. “I was hoping I could help out around here. Clean. Help fix stuff that needs fixing. Run errands. Anything you would need really. Anything for food and shelter for a while.”

Normally, people reacted with annoyance or pity when Virgil got around to this bit. But this woman started smiling brightly, so much that Virgil took a step back, suddenly unsure how to judge that reaction properly.

“Oh, that’s just perfect! I’ve needed someone to run up to the little village uphill with supplies but I haven’t been able to find someone.”

Virgil frowned. “Just that? I will do it, of course, but it seems like very little to…”

“Oh no, it will be a big help indeed,” she said, already turning around and starting to dig out pouches that had clearly been prepacked. “Normally, I have either my son or this other young man help me run back and forth with deliveries and such, but unfortunately my son has been dealing with a broken wrist and my other helper is not home from his quest yet.”

Virgil felt like there was something he was still missing. Even if those two men were not able to help, he had seen many able-bodied people out on the street. He found it difficult that none of them wanted to run up to the village with supplies for the sweet innkeeper.

“I’ll do it, of course, but please let me know if I can do more. It does not look like the village is a far trek. I can do more when I get back,” Virgil said, feeling like he was ripping off this woman.

“We will think of something if you insist, but really, it would be a big help. The village is not far, but the climb is a bit steep and the pouches are heavy. And…”

“And?” Virgil prompted, still waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Many dare not go up there. It is the home of many…” the innkeeper hesitated, looking side to side, before leaning closer to Virgil and dropping her voice to a whisper, “witches.”

Virgil felt the corners of his mouth twitch and it was all that he could do not to laugh. He was not one to be afraid of witches, but he knew many other people still were. It had only been a couple of years since laws had been passed protecting witches from discrimination. It had been an official stand, but people were still slow to accept them in many places.

“Oh, I see,” Virgil said, nodding.

“I hope that has not scared you off your offer,” the innkeeper said, watching Virgil’s face carefully.

“No,” Virgil said softly. “Not at all. I do not fear witches. Not in the slightest.”

“Good. They should not be feared. The ones I have met are the loveliest of boys. I have tried telling the other townspeople but alas, they do not listen to me.”

The woman sounded actually dejected on behalf of the witches and it wasn’t something that Virgil had ever seen before. A regular person just supporting witches? It was a nice sight, even if it was unfamiliar to him. Perhaps, it even gave him a little bit of hope.

“Hopefully, time will change that,” Virgil said, making himself smile at the woman.

She looked surprised, but in a good way.

“You’re a lovely boy too,” she said and Virgil nearly sputtered at the adjective, it was not one he had ever heard about himself ever. “Come eat lunch and then I’ll send you up with the supplies.”

“Oh, just dinner when I get back will be more than-”

“Nonsense,” the innkeeper said, cutting off Virgil’s protests. “No one should climb a mountain on an empty stomach. You will eat, or worry will eat at my heart. Come have a seat.”

Virgil had quickly learned that the innkeeper was not someone to be argued with, and he happily ate the delicious lunch she put in front of him. He had been snacking on old biscuits and dried meats for the past two days and it was good to get some substantial food in his stomach.

It turned out that he could manage both of the pouches on his back quite easily, with how he had gotten used to dragging his big backpack all around the land. It was a familiar weight on his back and he happily began the climb with food in his stomach and well-wishes from the innkeeper.

The town had been surrounded by lush forest as Virgil had walked in but it was nothing compared to the vegetation on the side of the volcano. Every plant was vibrant green, stems and leaves spreading out widely and proudly. The air even started to feel different as Virgil left behind the town and found himself lost amongst the leaves. The ground beneath his feet were soft and pleasant to walk on, a nice constant to the long road of gravel that Virgil had gotten used to traversing.

He had been slightly worried that he wouldn’t be able to find the village, once he was surrounded by all of the greenery, but he was pleased to find that there was a distinct path of downtrodden grass. It was the only path visible.

Virgil had been walking for quite a while before he reached the first crossroad and just where the paths diverted, a sign had been placed. It looked almost as if it was made by a family. There were almost childlike drawings in the corner, while flowy script read _Village_ and _Waterfall_ were straight out of a calligraphy book. The signs themselves were study, sharp and sharp. The whole structure looked like a combination of three styles. Virgil continued onto the path towards the village after he had closer inspected the drawings of the tiny clusters of houses and the drawing of the waterfall. The art style was simplistic but overwhelmingly cute.

Virgil began to be able to spot the tops of small wooden cabins before he made it officially into the town. It was quite small and quaint indeed. Cobbled stone paths wounds itself through the village and while all of the houses were of wood, none stood next to each other and every single one had distinctive features. Virgil took a couple of steps closer and soon he found himself at the heart of the village and the well in the center. There couldn’t be more than thirty or forty houses and yet this village seemed to be more abuzz than the larger town Virgil had just come from.

There were a group of children running past him, laughing and shouting, carefree and happy. Several houses with storefronts and more signs, in the same style as the previous ones, were located close to the cobbled path and the heart of the village. All shop doors were open and decorated with flowers out front no matter what they were selling.

It was homey. Nice.

Magical.

When Virgil concentrated, he could feel the magic in the air. It felt like it hung densely in the air, just like it would have done after Virgil had produced a storm. Only this magic didn’t seem fleeting or restless. It seemed seeped into the very foundation and walls of the houses and the cobblestones beneath his feet.

Virgil had seen dozens upon dozens of cities, town and villages as he had been wandering. He had never quite come across a place like this. It looked almost lost to time, with how the branches and vines reached in, clinging to the back of many of the houses. But there was life here and it was clearly taken well care of.

Witches. It was a haven for witches. Virgil was sure of it. Anyone who lived here had to either be a witch themselves or at least friendly towards witches. Virgil hadn’t known that such places existed. Had excited for a long time, if the appearance was anything to go by. He wondered if this was where witches had been hiding out before they had been accepted? In little lovely nooks that they could make their own and live in peace.

Something ached in Virgil’s chest but he was too worried to examine it.

So, he did what he had done for a long time. He kept moving.

He found the house he needed to drop the supplies off at quite easily. It had been in the far corner of the tiny village and it looked to be one of the newer houses. The wood was still too light and neat to have properly stood the test of time from nature for long. A few years tops, Virgil guessed.

He knocked on the door like he had been instructed.

He heard no reply, like he had also been warned of the innkeeper. He did what he had been told to do, which was ring the bell. He had thought it would be an electronic bell, or a bell above the door at the very least but instead it was a heavy, iron cast bell sitting on a shelf next to the door.

He had only managed to properly ring it once, the heavy clank reverberating through him, before the door had been opened to reveal a frail looking old woman. She smiled at him, heartedly even if it revealed that she missed a couple of teeth.

“You’re new, dearie,” the woman said. “Are you another addition to those lovely boys with the potion shop? You look like their type.”

Virgil didn’t know what to make of any of that. It sounded mostly like nonsense to him. Still, he replied politely.

“No, I am not. Just helping out the innkeeper in the town down the road. She said you ordered some supplies?” he said, half turning to show her the pouches on his bag.

“Yes!” she said heartedly. “Perfect. I was running out of material.”

She made grabby hands, while smiling in a way that added even more lines to her old face. She was a charming old lady if Virgil had ever seen one. It made him feel a little on edge, as he always did around people who seemed cheery or upbeat.

He didn’t trust it. Too often, it had turned out to be a façade and the person had been ready to strike the moment you let your guard down or stepped behind closed doors.

Even so, Virgil took off the pouches and followed the old lady into her house as she beaconed him inside. He put them down on the dining table as instructed and he was surprised to see her pull out pieces of glass and scrap metal from the pouches. She held the ruined pieces like they were lost treasures.

“Are they broken?” Virgil asked, suddenly feeling bad if he had somehow bend or broken any of it on his way here.

“No!” the old woman laughed. “Not at all. They’re pieces for my sculptures. They are meant to look like that.”

She tutted the last bit before going out to grab her bag and dig out coins. She deposited too many into Virgil’s palm. More than the innkeeper had said he should be given.

He started to separate the coins, so he was left with the right amount.

“Hold on a second and I’ll give you your change,” he said politely.

He jumped when the old woman closed her hand over his. His instant was to pull away, out of fear for both himself and the woman. He didn’t like to establish physical contact with strangers but he was more worried that he might hurt them.

“The change is tips for you, for delivering it,” she said sternly pressing his palm closed.

“Oh, but I…” Virgil hesitated, “I’ve been paid already by the innkeeper. You do not need to give me tips.”

“Are you sure you’re not with that other witch boy? He is always arguing about the tips too. I swear that he sneaks them back whenever I am not looking. Please take them. I won’t take no for an answer.”

“I…”

“Shush. Use it to buy something sweet for yourself. A treat. You look like you don’t remember to treat yourself,” the woman said. “It’s important to look after yourself.”

It was all Virgil could do not to start crying on a stranger’s doorstep.

He had seen the harshness of people too often that it felt almost startling to be confronted with random acts of kindness.

“Thank you,” he said in a whisper.

“It’s nothing,” she said, waving him off. “I’ve been making money off my sculptures and the house was a gift. I pay hardly anything for my daily potions and I have my pension too. I have more than enough to tip a hungry boy.”

Her words piqued Virgil’s curiosity and normally he would just have ignored it but there was something about this woman who made him feel like he could ask without getting his head bit off.

“Did you move here recently?” he asked timidly.

“Oh, a couple of years ago. I have this illness, you see. Long and complicated name. Not important. But I need medicine for it, but it was a harsh, harsh thing. I found out that I could take a special potion instead but hardly anyone could make it. It has a long and complicated name too and it can only be a few days old at most when I take it. It seemed sensible to move where a potion shop was making it. And I fell in love with this little village when I visited.”

“Even though it’s populated by witches?” Virgil asked, gathering that the woman likely wasn’t a witch herself. 

The old woman smiled kindly. “I have never felt more welcome in any place. It is a pleasure to spent my old age here.”

Virgil nodded, even if the concept scared him. For a long time, he hadn’t thought that he would ever get the chance to grow old. It had seemed far-fetched and unattainable for someone like him.

Whenever he had come out to anyone, it had been a disaster event. He couldn’t see himself finding a guy and settling down in a little cliff-side village.

It was like a fantasy. Far away in the future. Love and a home.

Virgil thanked her once more before he finally headed out. She actually invited him in for tea and biscuits but Virgil felt as if he had taken enough advantage already.

As he made his way out of the village, he noticed that more people tipped their hat at him or smiled. None of the actions looked forced, just friendly. For a beat, he wondered if someone had put a happiness spell on this place. He had heard of such things but he wasn’t sure that it was actually possible.

Either way, it would have been a forbidden spell for any witch. You were not allowed to influence other people’s emotions, even if some spells could do it. It was a violation and one of the reasons people feared the witches.

But Virgil doubted if a happiness spell could feel this genuine. There were no forced smile or strained magic in the air. Just friendly and smiling people. Virgil didn’t know why that made him feel uneasy.

He had only made it back to the sign with directions for the town and the waterfall, when he saw someone else. While the little village had been bustling with life and activity, the path leading to the village had been empty and deserted on his way up.

The stranger he met now was in the process of adjusting the sign just a little. Virgil frowned, as it looked more crooked after the adjustment than when he had passed it before.

“Oh, hello, my dear friend!” the stranger said, greeting him so sincerely as if he was an old friend and not a random man passing by.

Virgil stopped short, suddenly feeling exposed without his hood up or straps over his shoulders to wound his hands around. It had become a nervous tick of his and now he felt a little untethered.

It might in part be because the man in front of him looked both handsome and cheerful. It was two things that Virgil didn’t trust. The stranger had kind brown eyes, alight with a smile. His hair was light brown, and it was curling and unruly in a way that almost mimicked Virgil’s own, only it looked better messy than Virgil’s ever did. He was in grey overalls and a baby blue shirt that made him seem much younger than he probably was. The glasses on the tip of his nose were rounded and adorable.

All words had died on Virgil’s tongue. He did not know how to talk to someone like that. Not at all. He felt like they were almost polar opposites and he was probably tainting the air the adorable stranger was breathing.

“Oh, I’m sorry, did you not hear me?” the stranger asked, skipping closer, still smiling. He moved a wicker basket from his right arm to left hand. It looked to be overflowing with plants and flowers, all fully bloomed and colorful like the man in front of Virgil.

“Well, I…” Virgil didn’t what to say. He contemplated, just sprinting down the side of the volcano and hope that the man wouldn’t hold it against him.

“Ah! But where are my manners. I’m Patton. Nice to meet you,” the stranger, Patton, said as he thrust his right hand out for a hand shake.

Virgil’s fidgety hands stayed firmly at his side.

“Okay,” he said, bowing his head deeply enough to tilt his hood over his head. It didn’t feel very smooth. “Good to see you, but I need to be on my way.”

“Crickey, what’s the rush? Is your refrigerator running?”

“What?”

“Well, if it is, then that explains your desire to catch it!” Patton said, and then bended forward to slap his own knee while he let out pearls of laughter.

Virgil cracked a smile against his better judgement.

He shook he head lightly. “No, it’s not. Just… heading back to town.”

“But you’re not from there, are you? You’re not a villager either. We know everyone in the village and I thought I had seen everyone from the town who walked up here to visit us. Many don’t bother.”

He said it as if it was the climb that deterred them and not it being a hot spot for witches. As Virgil thought it, he wondered if this person in front of him was a witch. It was really a wonder that he hadn’t thought so before but he had been surprised by the easy smiles and the friendliness. Witches were reported as reclusive, and withdrawn, just like himself.

“Wait,” Patton said, suddenly stepping even closer and looking at Virgil very carefully. “Oh, you’re one of us. Is that why you have come here? Do you need help?”

One of us.

At least that confirmed it. Patton was a witch. But what was more worrisome was the fact that he had recognized Virgil as one. Still, Virgil had a lifetime of denying it behind him. He wasn’t about to give that up so quickly.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. I really must be going,” Virgil said but he found that passing Patton on the small pathway wasn’t an easy feat. He was a small guy but he seemed to take up a lot of room around him. He was one of those larger than life people.

Virgil didn’t want to brush past him but he might need to.

Patton’s cheery tone dropped away to reveal one seeped in sympathy.

“We can help, really. Whatever you need. Even if it’s only a patient ear or a hug. I’ve been told I give excellent hugs, you know,” Patton said, smiling so kindly and opening his arms just a bit, a small invitation.

Virgil wasn’t sure why he even felt the tug in the bottom of his stomach to stumble into the arms of this strangers. Maybe, it was just from being touch starved for so long. His body was telling him to get it from wherever it was available. Even if this guy was someone he didn’t know or trust. He was a smile and a welcoming person and he was offering it sincerely.

Virgil felt bad as he brushed past him, a little too roughly.

“I can’t, sorry.”

“Son, hold up!” Patton called out.

“There’s no way you’re older than me,” Virgil sneered over his shoulder, keeping his stride long and steady even as he heard Patton come stumbling after him.

Nerves were flittering over Virgil’s skin and his heart rate was beginning to kick up seriously. He needed to get out of here. Something about Patton made him feel on edge. Exposed. He didn’t like that. He had built walls around himself for a reason.

They kept him and others from harm.

It was the best way.

It was the only way.

“Why don’t you tell me your birthday and we’ll start there?” Patton called out after him, still sounded as enthusiastic as ever, even if Virgil was nearly running away from him.

He had to bite his tongue not to sneer properly against Patton, or call out any of the thoughts that would be harmful. Anything to dig under Patton’s skin to make him give up pursuit. Virgil had clocked them already, even if he had only been looking at Patton briefly. A jab here and there, and Patton would probably start crying.

It was easy for Virgil to cause harm, with his words and his magic. The trick lied in not letting himself do that. It was always harder to be good.

“Patton, you should stop following me,” Virgil said, still keeping up his long stride.

He could hear that Patton’s fumbling steps didn’t stop, not for a moment.

“But you’re hurting! You can’t leave someone alone when they’re hurting!” Patton called out like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Virgil had never had that. He had only ever been left alone when he was hurting. He had thought that everyone would pull away if someone was hurting. He had been left alone to deal with his hurt every single time.

It was even something that Patton had been able to sense the inner turmoil always in Virgil’s body just from one searching glance. Most people didn’t look carefully enough to spot it. Virgil wasn’t sure why Patton had looked so carefully.

It made his skin crawl even more, to the point where he could feel the electricity flit over his hands. He clenched his jaw and chanced a look at the sky above him. It had been partially cloudy but still sunny, but now dark clouds were forming above them. Virgil creating the beginning stages of a storm already.

“GO AWAY!” Virgil shouted, fast and angrily, because he was beginning to panic. This was bad. He hadn’t had an instance like this in months, but he could feel the panic attack creeping in. He felt pushed into a corner that he couldn’t get out of. He needed space, he needed to focus on his breathing exercises and he needed to make sure Patton was nowhere near him or he would get hurt.

He got none of that, because suddenly the branches from the trees along the path moved, smacking into him enough that Virgil came to an involuntary halt. His legs shook under him, but they were nothing compared to the tremor in Virgil’s hands.

“Kiddo?” Patton called, another nickname that spoke of too familial ties that they didn’t share.

Virgil could barely make his eyes focus on anything. His vision felt blurred and he could only hear the ecstatic beat of his heart in his chest. Too fast, too fast, too fast. Dangerous.

“I said LEAVE!” Virgil shouted, voice rising with his racing heart and he turned back towards Patton for the first time since he had pushed past him. Virgil hadn’t counted on how quickly he spun, or the fact that the lightning dancing over the skin of his hands seemed to be slung off him with the motion.

He felt the lightening leave his fingertips and dance through the air right at Patton, who had stopped only a few paces away and was staring with open mouth at what was unfolding before him.

Virgil could see what would happen already before the lightening connected. It would go right into Patton, reach his heart and pull the life from his body. Witch or not, lightening could kill. It was why Virgil never let it get this bad. He couldn’t let it get this bad because people could get _killed_. Because of him.

He could never live with himself if that happened.

In an uncharacteristic fit of clarity, Virgil leapt from the ground, palm out reached to catch around the lightening that he had just released. He knew he had gotten hold of it when he felt it burn into his skin, too hot, but he held on and tossed it skywards with all his might.

It burns at is skidded across his palm but his body was used to lightening scars. He handled them better and he knew he would heal soon enough, even if the pain was intense. It almost hurt more when his hip and shoulder collided with the ground as he fell, but he was smiling because he saw the lightening draw into the dark skies above. Away from Patton.

The clasp of thunder came as Virgil rolled over on the ground. It was loud, piecing through the quiet forest, and it was accompanied by a tiny but very heavy rain fall. It lasted all of ten seconds and Virgil managed to roll out of the way for most of it.

When he got to his feet, he saw that Patton wasn’t so lucky. He looked soaked to the bone. He was still staring at Virgil with his mouth open. Virgil wasn’t sure if it was shock, fear or any other emotion that was the reason behind that expression.

“I’m,” Virgil huffed out, his lungs burning like they always did after heavy magic use, “s-sorry. So sorry. P-please forg-give me.”

Virgil felt like his legs would give out any moment but he made his body stand straighter, and steadier. If it could betray him when he was out of control, the least it could do was support him when he was in control.

“Oh, no, don’t worry about it,” Patton said, when he found his voice. He shook his head not unlike a wet dog. The rain had drowned out his curls and his hair looked almost as long as Virgil’s with how it was plastered against his forehead and neck.

“Patton,” Virgil said, not getting closer out of worry that he’d frighten Patton, but still trying to convey his sincerity with his voice. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s no biggy,” Patton said, still too kind. He twisted out some water of his sleeve. “I probably needed to wash these clothes soon anyway. You saved me a lot of work.”

“I… I wasn’t talking about the rain,” Virgil said, carefully. “Though, I suppose I am sorry about that too. I… I was talking about the lightning. I could have… I could have hit you. It… it would have killed you.”

He hated to say so, it felt horrible to admit it, but it seemed like Patton hadn’t realized the seriousness of the situation. Virgil would have felt horrible if he hadn’t clarified.

“Ah,” Patton said and suddenly, his voice was a little smaller. “I suppose you could. But you didn’t! Still regular old cheery Pat, I am. Besides, that was wicked cool!”

“Wicked cool?” Virgil asked confused.

“Yes! I’ve never seen a witch who could catch lighting out of thin air like that _and_ redirect it! That requires a lot of control and power. Who did you study with? I didn’t think there were many weather witches around anymore, let alone any that specialized in storms.”

“Weather witches?”

“Oh, did I get that wrong? I try to listen when life partner rants off about the different sections of witches, but it gets confusing with the overall classifications and the under-specialties and such. I thought for sure that was right though. Lightning bending is a weather witch skill, is it not?”

Patton rambled, a little nervously, but Virgil felt like he couldn’t follow any of it. Witch specialties? Categories? All of that was foreign speak for him. He had never allowed himself to seek out knowledge about witches or magic. He had always been too afraid of what he might find.

And looking would have felt too real. It would have made Virgil feel like he was really a witch, instead just going about his day trying to keep his magic under wraps as he wandered from town to town.

Patton looked discouraged though, and Virgil didn’t like that look at him at all. He liked it much better when he was smiling and he picked his words carefully, hoping to make him smile again instead of frowning.

“I’m sure it’s right,” Virgil said kindly. “I… I wouldn’t know. I know very little of witches.”

Patton gaped at that, but it was a gape of wonder and astonishment rather than one of fear. Virgil would take it.

“How come? A witch who don’t know their own specialty? Have you not been around other witches? That’s such a shame! That’s the most fun of all of it. You get to have fun with magic! Our magic complements each other in different ways. Take me for example,” Patton said, pointing at his own chest, “I am a kitchen witch with a specialty in herbs and plants. My category is one of the broadest there is, which means I’m a bit of an all-round but I do love my little plant buddies the most. And they love me.”

Patton lifted the basket still on his arm, and Virgil took note of how every plant seemed to perk up from within it as Patton addressed it.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Virgil said, feeling a little bad he didn’t know what else to say. He wasn’t used to dealing out compliments, even if he wanted to give Patton all the compliments that he deserved.

“In fact! Why don’t I get you a buddy? You seem like you could use one,” Patton said and crouched down near the edge of the path.

Virgil’s head felt a little like it had been spun around a couple of times and now he was trying to orient himself. Why was Patton still talking so friendly and casually with him after Virgil had almost been responsible for his untimely death? None of that made sense. People weren’t that kind or friendly.

“You really don’t-”

“Nonsense,” Patton said, over his shoulder before he turned towards the bushes again. This time he spoke softer. “I need a plant buddy for my new friend. Maybe a flower? But a sturdy one, please.”

Virgil watched in astonishment as the bushes began to move and shiver slightly and the ground underneath Patton’s hands rippled. Only seconds later, a purple flower came crawling out from past the bushes, using its roots as legs to walk on.

“Hello, little buddy,” Patton spoke softly, putting a hand out. “Grab some soil too.”

Obediently, the roots started to dig into the ground and they pulled out earth with them, neatly trapped inside all of the roots. Then Patton scooped it up into his hands and held it out towards Virgil like an offering.

Like a gift.

Virgil wasn’t sure if he had ever been given a gift before when it hadn’t been his birthday or a gift-giving holiday. He surely had not been given a gift from a stranger before, but he was beginning to see that Patton was no ordinary person. Still, Virgil couldn’t accept.

“Patton, I can’t take this,” he said, but his voice came out a little wobbly.

“Why, sure you can,” Patton said, moving his hands and the plant closer. “It can hold in the soil, you see? Even if a little fall out, it will be okay. I swear the little buddy can hold on until you get home to pot it.”

There was so many things wrong with this wonderful gift. But Virgil could at least address the biggest one.

“Patton, you can’t give me a flower after I almost kill you.”

“Keyword there being almost, kiddo. I told you not to worry about it. Almost dying is the same as almost being sad. I’m not dead and I’m not sad. I know you didn’t mean to hurt me. I shouldn’t have chased after you when you didn’t want to speak to me, but I have bad impulse control. Me and my boyfriend are the worst when we team up. Just an impulsive mess that Logan has to rein in.”

It was the first time Patton mentioned Logan but Virgil wasn’t sure how to get Patton to understand that he didn’t know this person.

“Even if you insist, I still can’t. I don’t have a pot to keep it in,” Virgil said.

“Well, surely you can find one. Plants liven up any living space, you know. It’s good to have one in your home,” Patton insisted. Still smiling and once more thrusting the flower closer to Virgil for him to accept it.

Normally, Virgil would have made his escape long ago, but he felt like he owed this moment to Patton. It was the very least he could do. 

“I… I move around a lot,” Virgil said vaguely.

Patton clocked the truth instantly, and his hands dropped slightly where he was still holding the plant.

“You don’t have a home?”

Patton sounded like someone had twisted a knife in his heart and Virgil wanted nothing more than to back-pedal because the expression on Patton’s face was heartbreaking.

“I… I mean, who really needs a…? It’s… err… I’m okay, please don’t worry!”

“Of course, I have to worry! You’re a witch who don’t know who you are and you have no home! What about your family?”

Virgil shied away from that topic entirely. It wasn’t the first time on his travels that he had been asked what his family thought of him living like this, but it was the first time that he hadn’t just told the person to fuck off when they had asked.

He could never make himself act so harshly in front of someone looking as soft as Patton.

“I’m okay, on my own.”

“No one is okay on your own,” Patton said, stepping closer and now he shoved the flower into Virgil’s palms. Virgil only held on because he didn’t want to let the flower drop to the ground. “You take this. If you can’t bring it on with you, leave it with the innkeeper. She’s a friend of Roman’s. She’ll take care of it if need be.”

“Okay,” Virgil said because he had a feeling that one couldn’t really argue with Patton when he was in this mood.

“And you must promise me something else, too.”

Virgil wasn’t one for making promises. Not at all. He didn’t see the point when they were just going to get broken anyway.

“I can’t make you any promises, Patton,” Virgil said, and left it unsaid about how he would only serve to be a disappointment to Patton.

Kind, overly forgiving and overly friendly Patton who was still looking at him like he was a good person. He kept treating Virgil like he wanted to be treated. It had seemed like a dream that could never come true but here Patton stood in front of him. Unafraid. Kind. Warm.

“Well, okay, but I really think you should consider the power of a pinky-promise,” Patton said and locked his own two pinkies together. “But I take promises seriously and I’m glad to see that you do too. Now, even if you can’t make it a promise, I hope you will consider going back to the village before you move on.”

“What do you mean? Why?” Virgil asked.

“There is a shop in the village. A potion shop. I help run it, but my partner is the mastermind behind it. He can make potions for anything and he is an expert on all things witchy. He can probably help you find answers, if you want them. He can help with the… uncontrolled lightening too.”

“Oh…” Virgil said, feeling a familiar tightness in his chest. Worry.

Only there was another shade to it as well. Hope, maybe, from the way something spun around. He had never felt comfortable trusting in the kindness of strangers, but his wandering days had taught him that people would help sometimes even when they didn’t want to do so.

Patton seemed to be a special case and maybe his boyfriend or partner or whoever they were would be too.

But just the idea of going into a potion shop looking for answers made Virgil feel nervous. Did he want answers to any of the questions that he had never dared to ask? Could he handle another Patton, someone overflowing with kindness and compassion without it making him feel like this was what he had always missed in his life?

If he had someone like Patton growing up, he would have been a different man than he was today. He was sure of that.

“You don’t have to,” Patton said, kindly. “But I think it might help. Even if just a little. You can also say hi to me again. I’d love to see more of you.”

“Why?” Virgil asked and the question had poured out of him without restraint. It had tumbled past his lips, birthed out a desire to know why Patton would act like this. He wasn’t sure if he could trust that someone didn’t have an agenda.

“Why I want to see you again?” Patton asked, and he was smiling again but this was a new smile. A little smaller, a little more reserved, but still as genuine as all of the ones that had come before. “You’re interesting and cute, and you look like you need someone to help. That’s what I do best. I help other people.”

“You should remember to look after yourself first,” Virgil said, suddenly worried that Patton was one of those self-less and giving types who would run himself dry trying to keep other people watered.

Virgil had already found Patton cute, but it was something else to see his cheeks flush with a blush. He was standing closer than before and under the blush, Virgil now picked up on a light dusting of freckles. It was not fair for anyone to be both that lovely and that sweet.

Virgil’s poor gay heart could only take so much. Patton was coming for all of him.

“I have people in my life reminding me of that. Daily. But yes, I need to remember it too. That’s why it is good to have others to share life with. To let other people into your life. It makes it easier. Trust me.”

It was an unfamiliar concept to Virgil. In his eyes, it had only meant that you were a burden to someone else. It wasn’t something he had ever wanted in his life, but maybe he had been colored by his upbringing. Maybe, it wasn’t always an unhealthy affair.

Patton clearly sounded like a fan.

“Yeah, okay,” Virgil said. “I’m glad you have people like that.”

Patton looked like he was about to say something, like it was right on the tip of his tongue and then he bit it back. His eyes were back to scanning Virgil’s face.

“Think about what I said. We would love to see you. I mean it,” Patton said.

“Yeah, okay,” Virgil repeated, because he didn’t know what else to say to Patton’s invitations. They were a little overwhelming, but maybe in a good way.

At least, they left a little flutter in his chest.

It was a welcome change to the nerves.

“Take care,” Patton said. “Wait, can I at least get your name?”

Virgil didn’t really give out his name. Even when he needed to give out a name to the people in the towns that he wandered into, he tended to just make one up. A common name that meant nothing to him.

It would be the easiest to lie to Patton too.

But Virgil didn’t want to.

“My name is Virgil,” he said, forcing it out, almost like ripping off a band-aid.

Patton’s bright and warm smile was worth the moment of vulnerability, even if it made the flutter in his chest intensify.

Virgil’s steps were a little unsure but lighter, as he climbed down the volcano.


	2. Trust the logic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil finds himself heading back to the little witch village, even if he had originally planned to run away and never come back. What's worse, he has to head into the potion shop that Patton and his partner runs.

After the odd encounter with Patton, Virgil had been prepared to just grab his stuff from the inn and go. He could sleep outside until he reached another town. He felt like he had to keep moving because there was something about that small cliffside village that scared him.

It had been something about how the people had looked, even as he had just made his way through it. It was like the whole place was seeped in hope and it gave Virgil an idea of what might be within his grasp if only he wasn’t such an anxious mess who couldn’t even refrain from nearly harming innocent witches who were just trying to help.

He could never belong in a place like that. He knew that but still something about that place, about the old lady who had moved there even if she wasn’t a witch and Patton who had seemed so kind and lovely despite Virgil showing his worst side, had stirred something in him.

Hope in a hopeless situation was a very dangerous thing indeed.

But then Virgil had gotten back to the inn and the innkeeper and she had been so thrilled to see that he had made the delivery all the way. She said it as if she had asked other people and they had given up on the half-way and just returned to the town. Virgil didn’t get that one bit, but then again, he had never been scared of witches like that.

He had been scared of them a different way.

Because he was one of them. _That_ had terrified him.

For a while, it had made him want to lash out, both against witches and gays, but he had always managed to stop himself the last second. He had managed to stop harsh punches or sharp words that would have been wielded to hurt. He had never hated the witch or the gay parts of himself, but he had hated how society viewed him because of it. How it marked him as an outcast from the moment he was born and then life had settled him with occasional crippling anxiety on top of it.

Or maybe because of it. Too much internal shame could probably give you’re a whole hoard of mental illnesses.

The innkeeper was already urging him along, saying she had prepared a special meal for him for his troubles. He had tried to tell her, again and again, that it was a very small thing and he didn’t mind one bit. He didn’t want her to go through all of this trouble of preparing food specifically for him.

He hated making a fuss about himself. It always made him feel like he was doing something wrong when he wasn’t meek and quiet and undemanding.

Because of all the fuss, Virgil knew he wouldn’t be able to decline the agreement to stay a night in the inn but he promised himself that he’d sneak out at early light and make sure to leave the town and more importantly the little village on the volcano behind him.

It was clearly an odd place. What type of volcano had a spring on it, even if it was a dormant one? Surely, it was the work of witch craft.

Virgil thought he would find it easy to do what he had done his whole life. He had perfected turning his back to that part of himself.

He had made it out of the inn undetected in the early morning and he had made it to the edge of town when something stopped him in his tracks. It wasn’t any type of magic. At least not one he could recognize.

It just felt odd.

He had walked for months, just aimlessly drifting and now he had finally stumbled across a place that might have the opportunity to actually _matter_. And he was just as much of a coward as when he had run away from his problems before. He just wanted to keep running.

When would he stop?

A year from now?

Ten years?

Until his legs couldn’t walk without the support of a cane? Would he be an old man still running away from things that made him feel something? Things that made him feel that flicker of hope?

And why?

Because he had his hope at a better life snuffed out too often? He had always felt like he was just waiting for history to repeat himself. Whenever he felt like he moved a step forward, it would only be a matter of time before he took two back.

Right now, he couldn’t make himself move at all.

He started down at his worn shoes, feeling how one of the heels were ripped and threadbare enough that he could almost feel the gravel through it.

He had been running for a long time without ever really taking a step forward.

Now he turned on his destroyed heel and walked backwards.

It felt like the first step forward that he had taken in a long time.

Virgil had thought he would manage to sneak back into the inn without being discovered, but he quickly realized that he hadn’t been as sneaky as he had thought. The innkeeper was behind the counter where he had first met her and she greeted him with a warm smile. She could see the heavy bag on Virgil’s back, containing all of his belongings, and yet she didn’t mention it or what it clearly meant.

“Out for a morning walk?” she asked kindly, ignoring his back.

This woman exuded mother energy. It was the type of mothering interference that Virgil had always wished from his own mother.

“Err… yeah.”

“Good, the morning air is special around here.”

“Special?” Vigil asked.

“Yes, I think it has something to do with our friends up in the little village. Most neighboring towns deal with all sorts of attacks. Ogres running wild, curses on the crops, birds smashing into windows, but none of that happens here.”

Virgil followed the woman’s eyes as she turned to look out of the window to her left. Right within view was the dirt path that Virgil had walked just yesterday.

“I see,” he said, even if he wasn’t sure if he was still missing something. Could a coven of witches do that? Would they do that? Put a charm on their own little village sure, but the neighboring town that seemed scared of them? Why would they want to protect them?

“Take a seat in the corner and we’ll fix you up some breakfast, boy,” the innkeeper said.

“Oh, no! I’ve always overstayed my welcome and more than taken advantage of your hospitality,” Virgil protested.

“Nonsense. You are more than welcome here. And if you’re worried, I’m sure you can help me out today as well, if you’re up for it. It would be another favor for a day of food and shelter.”

That sat with Virgil a little better, even if he wasn’t sure what to make of the glint in the innkeeper’s eye. He didn’t think it was a malicious one, just something he needed to be cautious of. It was not difficult for him. He was naturally very cautious.

But rather than making himself fret over the task now, he accepted it when she told him to wait at the corner table. It was not often Virgil got to have good food two days in a row and he was not dumb enough to argue with the innkeeper’s kindness.

He almost regretted not arguing when he was embarking on a journey up to the little village of witches for the second day in a row. Turned out that the innkeeper needed a potion for her son that was helping speed up his recovery. She said that he had spilled his last bit by accident yesterday, but Virgil wasn’t sure how much truth there was to that story.

Even so, he was nothing if not a man of his word and he started walking back up to the village after breakfast. He had gone back to the room he had borrowed, letting his big bag fall back onto the bed before heading out. He had felt his eyes linger on the flower on the bedside table, now in a pot curtesy of the innkeeper. He had been content to leave it behind, to donate it to the inn, but he almost felt bad now looking at it after almost abandoning it.

It was not exactly a hard journey up the volcano but there was just something about it that made Virgil feel a little tired. A little uneasy on his feet. It was worse today than the day before but Virgil mostly contributed that to the fact he still felt very guilty about what had happened to Patton.

And the fact that he was heading up to the potion shop that Patton had told him to visit when they had parted yesterday. There was too high a likelihood that Virgil would run into Patton there and it made his heart pound a little too fast. In last night’s dreams, Virgil had seen Patton’s face, smiling and gorgeous with his curls softly falling around his face. But then the dream had shifted into a nightmare and Virgil had once more cast the lightening but this time, he had not caught it. He had woken up in a cold sweat.

Of course, there was also the possibility that Patton’s partner would be the one in the potion shop. Virgil almost dreaded that more if Patton had shared what had happened yesterday. Virgil wasn’t sure what he was supposed to do if an experienced and powerful witch came charging right at him for almost hurting his Patton. Virgil would probably just lie down and die. He would have deserved it for almost snuffing out a light as bright as Patton, even if it hadn’t been his intention.

It had only been when Virgil returned home that he had noticed that Patton referred to his significant other as a guy. It was usually something Virgil took careful note of, because his inner gay perked up but Virgil must have been rather distracted by everything.

The idea that Patton liked boys made Virgil feel a little giddy, but then he remembered that Patton also had sounded very in love and taken. He had called Virgil cute but that hadn’t needed to mean anything.

Other people who weren’t so emotional constipated could probably call people cute willy-nilly. It didn’t have to mean anything.

Virgil wasn’t one of those people but Patton could very well be.

When Virgil reached the part where the paths separated, he paused for a moment. Patton had been here yesterday when he had run into him. There was no sight of him anywhere near now, and Virgil felt a little bit of anxiety ease off.

He was being silly. He would probably meet Patton or his partner but that would be okay. Patton had forgiven him for yesterday, even if he had done so all too easily. And Virgil wasn’t even here for himself.

He was only here to help the innkeeper’s son.

Virgil wasn’t sure why it sounded like a lie to his own ears.

Or rather he did know why, but he chose to lie about that to himself too.

The village was just as lively as yesterday. There were still people and children out and about. Even the air seemed a little warmer and a little brighter up here. It surely wasn’t high enough in the air that you made it past where the clouds lingered in the sky, but yet Virgil only saw blue skies above him, even if the two at the foot of the volcano had been cloudy.

A group of children, the same as yesterday, came running too fast past Virgil and one stumbled right into his leg and almost sent him toppling over. Virgil’s first instinct was to catch the child, even if it meant that he did fall to his knees himself to do so.

“You okay?” he asked the child.

It was a little girl with blonde hair and very blue eyes. She looked up at Virgil as he pulled his arms back and tried to offer her a friendly smile. He had never really been the best around children. He was too fidgety for them and when he inevitably flinched, he just ended up scaring them.

“Purple,” she said, not seeming to mind him at all or the fact that she had nearly been pulled into Virgil’s lap to prevent her from getting hurt. She reached out her little chubby fingers, gently pulling at the ends of Virgil’s bangs and the faded purple color.

“It’s my favorite color,” Virgil said, thinking that must be something children still talked about. Wasn’t it?

He seemed to hit the mark because the girl’s eyes lit up and she started to clap.

“Mine’s yellow!”

“Oh, yellow,” Virgil said, not really revealing that he had a lot of issues with yellow. If it made this girl happy, he shouldn’t say anything to take away from her joy from something just because Virgil didn’t share it. “Why is that?”

“It’s the color of the sun,” the girl said very seriously. “And best shop in village!”

At the last sentence, she pointed behind Virgil, down the little street. Virgil turned to see that there was indeed a little yellow house. It was a rather bright yellow, very loud and notable next to the houses in red and blue hues. A sign above the shop, matching the mismatched style of neat handwriting and childlike drawings from the other signs, read _Potion Shop_. On each side of the words were what looked like vials with colorful stuff inside them.

“That’s a good shop?” Virgil asked, finally pushing the little girl off his lap and helping her stand with a hand on her shoulder.

He looked around to look for the other children but he found them just hovering nearby, eyeing him with huge interest. Some of them looked like their eyes might pop out. There were other people near, adults, but no one seemed to be actively watching the group of children.

Was this place safe enough that they felt like they could let their children run around unobserved?

Virgil thought of the busy city and main road that he had grown up, and how the traffic never stood still. He had never been allowed out like this, his mother always shouting that he should be careful and to hold her hand.

He still got nervous around busy roads, remembering his mother’s shriek voice of warnings.

“Best shop,” the girl corrected. “They made mama smile again.”

Virgil wasn’t sure what that meant but the little girl looked very proud of herself. Her smile was soft and sweet. Virgil kind of wanted to linger here, to talk to this child to distract himself from a confrontation, but he knew he was only delaying the inevitable. He had a lot of practice doing just that.

He also worried what other people might think of him keep talking to this random child. He almost felt like he was doing something wrong, anxiety creeping up that any second an angry parent might come running at him and demanding what he was doing with their daughter.

“Go play with your friends,” Virgil encouraged and started to walk towards the little yellow shop.

“Sir?” the girl called out and Virgil stopped politely and turned towards her.

She had a contemplative expression on her face, like she was thinking very hard and trying to make the words come out right.

“I hope the potion men make you happy too.”

Virgil felt a lump in his throat, even as he cracked a soft smile. He wasn’t sure how this child had seen that he needed to be happier just from a few minutes of conversation. But it was one of the reasons that he felt a little on edge around children. They were so damn perceptive that it was a little scary.

The girl clearly looked like she was expecting an answer. Virgil knew he had to give her one.

“I hope they do,” he said, and he knew that was the right answer when she smiled and waved a big wave before turning around to her friends.

The children instantly started to snicker and talk loudly about Virgil. Surprisingly, it didn’t sound bad but Virgil still hurried on. He didn’t need to know what people thought of him. He had enough nightmares, thank you.

There was an old school bell on the door to the potion shop that rang loudly as Virgil tried to quietly push the door open. He resisted the urge to close his eyes in worry that they would soon land on Patton. He did a compromise and clenched his jaw while looking down to the floor instead.

“Hello, welcome to our potion shop,” a deep and formal voice greeted him.

Virgil was so surprised that his head snapped up a little too quickly. Definitely not Patton. The man in front of him wore a blue necktie and a nice black shirt and his dark brown hair was pushed back. Only the glasses made Virgil think of Patton. They looked like the exact same frames.

“H-hello,” Virgil said, shoulders hunched and body tight like he was ready to leap and run for his life any moment.

The man reached up to correct his glasses from where they had slipped down his nose. In that instance, he didn’t remind Virgil of Patton whose glasses had constantly been a little too low on his face and somewhat crooked the whole time that Virgil had been talking to him.

“What can I help you with?”

“Err…”

“Do you need me to do a reading?”

“A reading?” Virgil asked, feeling very confused.

He took a moment to look around the shop, yellow on the inside as well as on the outside but it was a pastel tone in here instead of the bright sunshine one on the outside. There were shelves lined against every wall, and they were chuck full of vials and bottles and boxes. There were neat little labels on each shelf, again with the same handwriting and the same style illustrations that Virgil seemed to see everywhere.

It was only then it clicked.

It must be this man’s handwriting – Logan or Roman? – and the drawings could be Patton’s. It seemed to fit with them, even if Virgil didn’t really know any of them. He had only had one conversation with Patton and only met this man a minute ago.

Yet, there was something in him that said he was right.

“A reading,” the man behind the counter said, putting down the glass vial he had been polishing. He stepped out from behind the counter and Virgil barely managed to stop his legs from fleeing out of the door that he was still standing half way through. “A reading is when I figure out what you need help with. Some people find it hard to identify what exactly they are struggling with.”

Virgil knew all too well what was wrong with him. Anxiety would often cease hold of and cripple him, insomnia plagued his worst nights and he was barely managing to beat depression away with a stick. It was just something he had to live with. He had resigned himself to live like that.

For the most part.

“I don’t need a reading,” Virgil said, worrying that this man would see more than just his mental illness. Some witches were also extremely perceptive. And Virgil had an idea that his man might be among the top.

“Oh, of course, you do not _need_ a reading, I was asking whether you _wanted_ one,” he said, folding his hands behind his back. He seemed to assume a waiting position, just staring at Virgil and waiting for him to say or do anything. It was a little unnerving.

“Stop looking at me,” Virgil grumbled, teeth clenched so hard that the words almost didn’t come out.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, stepping away, hands dropping to his side. “I… I am not the best at customer interaction. I apologize. Usually, my partner Patton handles this but I’m afraid he is out for the day.”

Virgil felt a little more at ease knowing that at least he wouldn’t have to deal with Patton’s lovely face and fluttering energy. And his lovely face. It was better for Virgil’s gay heart to avoid it.

However…

The man in the tie was also a very attractive man, Virgil noticed now that he allowed himself to look. He stood tall and his features were nice, sharp and handsome and Virgil felt something flutter in his stomach. No, nope. He could not deal with one new crush, let alone two.

Let alone on fellow witches.

Even less on witches who were already dating each other!

Nope, nope. He had to nope right out of there.

Virgil wanted to run out of the store but he had actually come here with a purpose and he knew he had to fulfil his promise to the innkeeper. She had been very kind and friendly and done much more than what the small favors were worth.

“Patton is rather charming,” Virgil said, and the words were out of his mouth before he realized that he had said them. He snapped a hand over his mouth, but the cat was already out of the bag.

The cat had jumped out and right into this stranger’s face and scratched him.

“You’ve met Patton?”

“Yes.”

Keep it short, causal. Lots of people probably met Patton if he made it a habit of running around and offering flowers to anyone and everyone. Virgil’s flower been put into a pot against his protests when the innkeeper had seen him come home with it. It sat next to his borrowed bed at the Inn, blooming beautifully, not looking upset at the change in environment at all or the fact that it had been lugged down a hill in just Virgil’s hands.

“When did you meet Patton? He always tells me about… oh,” a snap of the man’s fingers. “You must be Virgil? The weather witch?”

Virgil felt the mortifying feeling of being known. He did not like that. He did not like that this man and Patton seemed to already know more about him than most people from his life growing up. Yet, he said it so causally, like none of this was a big deal. He said it like it was normal.

“And you? Was your name Logan or Roman?” Virgil said, a weak attempt to direct the attention.

“I failed to introduce myself? I really do need to work on that. My apologies again. My name is Logan. But I’m surprise you could confuse me with Roman. We do rarely get mixed up,” Logan said, lip pulling up into a smile.

Virgil felt like he was missing something funny, maybe an inside joke or something. Again, he had no idea. He didn’t know any of these people, even if Patton had spoken about them so casually. Maybe people did that, when you had close friends or boyfriends. You just went blabbing about them to strangers.

Virgil wasn’t sure he would be capable of doing that even if he had such close friends or a significant other. Even if he could see the appeal of talking about someone if they looked like Patton or Logan. They seemed like an unlikely pair, Virgil thought, but he was probably limited by his first impressions.

He didn’t know them, he told himself again.

And he didn’t want to know them, he iterated to himself when that pesky curiosity crept up again.

“Patton told me all about you,” Logan continued, and he didn’t seem to notice how Virgil froze in terror. He just moved over to his shelf and started to sort through the vials. “Which is quite usual for him. He had a tendency for finding people. I’ve wanted to research him, actually, to see if his knack for stumbling across people that need help is somehow connected to his witch abilities but he always denies it. He says that he just pick up vibes and follow them.”

Logan just kept talking, and Virgil watched on, somewhat baffled and a little scared. Logan didn’t seem hostile but the thought of anyone discussing him and his witch powers made Virgil want to climb out of his own skin. It didn’t help that he was just waiting for the threat or the punch.

If Patton had truly told Logan everything, then he would know that Virgil had almost killed Patton. Logan looked like a capable and acknowledged person. Was there such a thing as witch jail? Virgil felt like he might be heading straight for it if he breathed wrong.

Logan picked up one of the vials on the shelf, after going through nearly all of them and then double-checking the label.

“But he knows what people needs before they know it themselves,” Logan said, and only then he looked over at Virgil but he didn’t seem to be able to read him that well. “Patton said you are not familiar with our world. But essentially, witches, or any witch willing to learn really, can learn to do a reading and figure out what a person needs or desires. But it involves a ritual and an established touch. Patton always seem to just do it on the fly. Anyway, I think this will help you.”

Logan held a vial out for Virgil.

“Err…”

Finally, Logan seemed to notice that something was off about Virgil. He looked confused and then he looked almost embarrassed.

“Ah, I apologize. I did not mean to ramble. I can get too caught up in my head sometimes. And on specific topics, I can just keep going. Patton, potions, Roman, spells, too many things. Patton indulges me, Roman will cut me off when he finds it too boring. Ah, I am doing it again. I promise I do not make a habit of oversharing. But around you…”

“What?” Virgil asked, shoulders hunched up higher as Logan’s analytical gaze settled on him.

“Nothing…” Logan said, but his eyes said something different. Virgil wasn’t sure what that look meant but he was sure that it didn’t mean nothing. “Still, please excuse my unprofessionalism. I have the vial you’ll need here.”

Logan once more tried to hand Virgil the vial. Virgil once more refused to take it. He wasn’t sure what that dark blue liquid was but he did know that it couldn’t possibly be the potion for speed healing broken bones that he had been sent to collect. The innkeeper had said that it was orange and came in a little round container.

“I am not here for myself,” Virgil said, trying to get his eyes to unstuck from the floor. “I’m on an errand for the innkeeper. Her son needs-”

“The one with the broken arm? Is there an issue with the potion?” Logan asked, suddenly looking worried.

“No, no,” Virgil insisted, waving his arms. “He is fine, or at least, I think he is fine. The innkeeper said something about the potion being smashed and they needed a replacement. I offered to come get it.”

Logan looked very confused.

“The potion was smashed?”

“Or spilled or something, I don’t know,” Virgil said with a shrug.

“Okay…” Logan said, hesitantly and turned back toward his shelves. “Here you go.”

Then he handed Virgil a little round container, made of wood. A little confused, Virgil unscrewed the lid. The potion was orange alright, it was also the consistency of an ointment. Virgil realized why Logan had looked so baffled. There was really no way to spill or destroy this particular potion, at least not by accident.

“Great, thanks,” he just said under his breath, feeling like a fool, even if it wasn’t his fault. He hadn’t known that he had been send here on a fool’s errand. He hadn’t really been in a position to argue but he had felt like something was fishy when the innkeeper had sent him out this morning.

Virgil dug into his pockets for the money but Logan was already waving him off.

“The innkeeper is an old friend of ours. Well, an old friend of Roman’s, at least. If she needed a replacement then she can get it free of charge,” Logan said, scribbling on a little notepad that was on the counter.

“Are you sure? She said to pay you,” Virgil said, fingers still locked around the money.

He should probably just take this blessing and run with it, run far away from this shop, but something kept him rooted in place. He was half sure that the innkeeper had just sent him up here because she had wanted to give him something to do, or perhaps because she wanted to give him a reason to return here.

He couldn’t just leave, even if it might be the wiser option.

His old buddy curiosity was also digging its teeth into him. The dark blue vial was still on the counter, the one that Logan had tried to give him before. He wanted to know what it was for but the label was turned down towards the table.

“What’s it for?” Virgil asked, again too curious for his own good.

Logan raised an eyebrow and followed Virgil’s eyes.

“This potion?” Logan asked, gingerly picking it up but still not in a way so that Virgil could see the label.

Virgil nodded but he didn’t speak. Logan just kept looking at him, so he nodded again. Still nothing.

“Yes, that potion,” Virgil said, a little frustrated. “What’s in _that_ potion?”

“Well, there is a myriad of ingredients but I think what you’re really asking is what it is for, as in what does it help with.”

“Alright, didn’t come for a lesson, teach,” Virgil grumbled, ready to turn around and storm out now. This was a mistake. It was always a mistake when he showed interest in anything. It just came back to bite him in the butt.

“No, please wait,” Logan said, before Virgil had even made it to the door. “Allow me to offer you a hot beverage. Come sit with me and have a chat.”

Logan had pointed to the corner of the shop, a place with a long table. Virgil could see now that there was a little ledge along the wall, padded with cushions.

He wanted to refuse blankly, because that would have been the smart decision, but Virgil had never quite known what was good for him or not. He was a little too impulsive.

And Logan had already disappeared into the back room, presumably to return with a hot beverage. Virgil wasn’t even sure what type of hot beverage he meant when he said that but he supposed that he would find out.

With Logan gone, Virgil let his finger gently nudge the vial that Logan had put back down onto the counter. It rolled over a couple of times, but stopped label up.

 _Anxiety reducer_.

It was scribbled in a way that Virgil instantly recognized from the signs around town. It was a neat handwriting, even on such a tiny label, and Virgil wouldn’t really be surprised to find that Logan had written it.

Virgil allowed himself to browse the shelves now that Logan was gone. He stepped closer to them almost cautiously, worried he might set something off if he just came too close. Curiously, it wasn’t the potions that kept his attention.

It was a photograph.

Or rather a small collage of photographs. Virgil recognized two of the three men appearing in the photographs. Patton and Logan did look good together despite their difference in styles. Frankly, the third man suited them well too. He looked like a charmer, smiling and posing dramatically in every single one of the photos. The collection of photos looked like they had been taken over time, in different locations. Sometimes, just two or one of them, but most of the photos were of the three of them together.

They looked happy. The kind of happy that Virgil could only dream of finding.

Only, he wouldn’t even dare to dream of big smiles like that shared because it felt too much like fake hope.

“They’re charming, aren’t they?” Logan asked, making Virgil jump from where he had been lost in the photographs.

“Huh?”

“I feel like the odd one out with them sometimes, I swear. Handsome and bubbly boys,” Logan said with a shake of his head.

“You’re handsome too,” Virgil said, only realizing that the words had left his mouth a second too late.

He widened his eyes and wanted very much to disappear under the floorboards or something. He should not be allowed around handsome men. He said the most stupid shit. All the time. He cautiously watched, waiting for Logan to either be pissed or annoyed, but instead, he just shot Virgil a small smile and then let the comment drop without further acknowledgement.

“I brought both whipped cream and marshmallows for your hot chocolate. I wasn’t sure what you’d fancy,” Logan said, sitting down an adorable tray on the table.

“How did you know I’d like a hot chocolate then, or was that the only hot beverage on the menu?” Virgil asked, suddenly curious about Logan’s thought process.

“No, our assortment is quite large, I can assure you,” Logan answered, sounding almost humored. “But I was pretty sure hot chocolate would be the best bet for you. I did not think you’d want anything with caffeine.”

Logan lifted a simple white mug to his lips, drinking what smelled like strong coffee. Logan was right in his assessment, of course, Virgil couldn’t detest coffee or even green tea. Anything with caffeine kicked up his heartrate too much and it would feel too close to a panic attack.

“You’re right,” Virgil conceded. “And I do both whipped cream and marshmallows when available.”

It made him feel almost like a kid to admit it but while Logan’s gaze was intense, it wasn’t judging not at all. It was a stark contrast to when Virgil had been a child and his parents had always been judging what was or wasn’t on his plate.

“A sweet tooth? Then how about these too?” Logan asked, pulling a little container of colorful sprinkles out of his pocket.

Virgil kind of hated that he wanted them so much but asking for them would be too mortifying. However, Logan just seemed to read his expression and he set about putting all three available toppings on his hot chocolate. Virgil just watched as nimble hands finished the drink, and he found himself wondering when someone had last made him a drink.

It must be years and years.

“Sit with me, will you?” Logan asked, moving to sit along the ledge.

Virgil was already in too deep and he knew he had little choice but to sit down. The drink looked entirely too inviting. He sat down on the sky-blue cushion and leaned forward to carefully cup the drink in his hand. Unlike Logan’s plain mug, this one was ombre purple moving from deep violet to light lavender.

Everything on top was already melting and it was creating almost rainbow-like stripes as the colorful sprinkles melted through the white whipped cream and marshmallows. Virgil smiled down at the drink.

He wasn’t sure he ever could stop smiling at rainbow colored things. It was like an instinctive gut reaction that always put a smile on his face. Whenever he encountered real rainbows reflected on the ground along his journey, he would usually take a moment to linger and reach out his hand and let it be painted in the colors. It felt like he held a little part of himself in his palm. A rainbow was beautiful in its span of colors, even if Virgil had never felt beautiful.

Logan didn’t seem to mind the quiet, he just settled in with his own mug and sipped slowly. Virgil found that it was almost difficult to manage to drink a hot chocolate topped with marshmallows, whipped cream and sprinkles but it was still worth it when he got his first sip. It tasted heavenly.

Then a thought struck him.

“You didn’t put anything in this, right?” Virgil asked, anxiously.

“What do you mean? It’s made from cacao powder and milk, so yes, of course I put ingredients in it? I fail to see how I would be able to make a drink otherwise.”

Virgil was so thrown by his response that he just looked at Logan. He was waiting for him to stay that the reply was just a quip meant to be funny, or to at least elaborate but he seemed to be done with his explanation and he looked like he was just waiting for Virgil’s reply.

Virgil tried very hard not to find it adorable that Logan had taken his words literally. He was failing spectacularly, as he felt something flutter in his stomach.

“No, I mean, like you didn’t slip in any potions or anything,” Virgil clarified, even if he was pretty sure that Logan would not be capable of this judging from his initial reaction.

Or he was just an excellent actor and he knew how to be accidentally adorable and make Virgil’s poor gay heart start to race.

“Potions? No, of course not!” Logan said, now having caught on to what Virgil had meant. He looked appalled and worried. “I would never make anyone ingest anything that they didn’t agree to. Virgil, I apologize if I have made you uncomfortable or distrustful or-”

“Hey, Logan, chill,” Virgil said, interrupting what sounded like it was about to turn into a very long monologue. “You didn’t do anything. I’m almost always uncomfortable and distrustful and probably any other adjectives that you were about to spout out.”

“I am sorry,” Logan said and Virgil wasn’t sure if he was apologizing for ranting, or because he felt sorry for Virgil’s disposition.

“It’s not your fault,” Virgil said truthfully and he took another sip of the hot chocolate now that he was fairly certain that it hadn’t been poisoned in any way. He got whipped cream on his upper lip.

“You have something on your lip,” Logan politely pointed out and for a beat, Virgil thought he might reach over to wipe it off, which had Virgil’s heart racing faster, but instead Logan pulled an old-fashioned handkerchief out of his breast pocket and offered it to Virgil.

Virgil was stunned but took it all the same. He didn’t really want to dirty it with the whipped cream but Logan watched him expectantly and he didn’t see any way around it. He hated that Logan would now have to wash it because of him.

“Thank you,” Virgil said timidly, wiping before putting it down onto the tray. “And sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize taking up space, Virgil. For just existing. You have as much right to it as any of us.”

Virgil hadn’t been prepared for such kind words out of the blue and he felt like his words got caught in his throat. The back of his neck burned and he wanted to run away and hide but there was something about Logan’s words and the cadence of his voice that just kept him in his seat.

Logan said it like he was stating a universal fact that could not be rebutted. He sounded surer of it than Virgil had ever felt sure about anything in his life.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Virgil asked, feeling electricity built along his palms, just slightly but it was enough to remind him of what had happened with Patton just yesterday.

“Why would I not be pleasant to you?” Logan asked confused.

Virgil should learn not to look a gift horse in the mouth but he couldn’t help himself.

“I am not good. I don’t deserve… you shouldn’t be good to me. You, in particular,” Virgil said curling his hands into his hoodie pouch to prevent his magic from getting out of control again. He locked his hands together inside of the pouch and tried to breathe normally.

“Why me in particular?” Logan asked.

Patton really hadn’t told him. He had clearly told Logan about Virgil but he must have failed to mention how Virgil had come too close to killing him. Why he would leave that bit of the story unspoken was a mystery to Virgil. Virgil would do better to keep his mouth shut, but he couldn’t, not when Logan was being so nice. 

“Because… when I met Patton yesterday… I…” Virgil stumbled through the word and they were sitting hot on in tongue, burning. They wouldn’t come out.

“Ah,” Logan said, clicking his tongue. “Are you referring to your lightening incident?”

Virgil snapped his head to the side to look at Logan in confusion.

“Wait? You know, about… how I almost… _killed_ him?”

Logan still didn’t look mad. He looked like he was thinking and evaluating but there were no emotions on his face.

“According to Patton, it was an accident. One that you fixed as well. I saw your hands when you walked in,” Logan said nodding towards Virgil’s hoodie pouch where he was still keeping his hands hidden. “You have healing lightening scars. Patton said you managed to grab onto them and toss them up into the sky instead. You saved him.”

No, Logan was getting it all wrong.

“No, I didn’t save him,” Virgil argued. “I almost hurt him.”

“No,” Logan said sternly. “You didn’t. You said it yourself. You _almost_ hurt him. Take note of the critical word in that sentence. You did something, by accident, which almost resulted in harm. However, as soon as you realized what you had done, you _actively_ and _purposefully_ interfered to save him. In conclusion, you saved him.”

Virgil blinked a couple of times, just looking at Logan in amazement. How was it that he could quiet all the internal worries about this with just a few carefully crafted sentences? Virgil had been beating himself up about this, violently and repeatedly, since it had happened yesterday but now his mind was much quieter.

“You… Really?”

“Yes, really, Virgil. I know Patton does not hold your responsible for your accidental slip of control, and neither do I. We do not blame you at all,” Logan said and Virgil hadn’t known how much he needed to hear those words. “We understand, you know. We were also once learning to control our magic, and our depositions were not even as volatile as yours.

Virgil felt his eyes starting to sting a little, a pre-warning that he was about to cry soon if he did not get a grip of himself. It was difficult to do so under Logan’s quiet gaze and smart words.

“You are too nice,” Virgil muttered. “Both of you.”

Logan smiled. “Oh, no, Patton is the nice one, I assure you. Or Roman at times. I’m not nice. I only tell the truth that logic dictates. I am bad at being nice.”

Virgil shook his head, because Logan was the one mistaken now.

“No, you’re good at it,” Virgil said. “You are. Trust me as someone who feels very comforted by you right now.”

Now it was Logan’s turn to be slightly flustered and off-balance. He reached up to adjust his glasses and then his hands moved to his tie. His hand smoothed down the fabric multiple times. Virgil knew a nervous tick when he saw it and he allowed Logan a moment to collect himself by drinking more of his hot chocolate.

“Would you let me continue to… err, be nice? While I would never give you a potion without your consent, I would like to give you something to help.”

“Help?”

“With the anxiety, depression and insomnia,” Logan said, rising from his seat.

Logan spoke once more as a matter of fact, not really sounding aware that he had just laid Virgil bare once more. It made Virgil’s breathing hitch but he found that he already didn’t blame Logan. How could he when he was pretty sure that the man didn’t do it on purpose?

“How did you know?” Virgil asked, watching Logan go back behind the counter to pick up both the vial from before and a little pouch from under the counter.

“I am very good at what I do,” Logan said, walking back over to the table. “I don’t always know the right words, but I do know how to solve problems. And if you get your anxiety under control, and you get enough stable rest, then your control of your magic should increase as well. It is all connected.”

Logan put the pouch and the vial on the table next to Virgil.

“I don’t think they will help,” Virgil said, eying them. He had tried medicine for his anxiety before and it hadn’t worked out with the first prescription. He had never dared to try any other, too embarrassed that he couldn’t even do his meds right.

“Let me prove you wrong then,” Logan said, almost in challenge. “Take two drops of this anxiety reducer potion daily, one in the morning and one in the evening. It should help balance the chemicals in your brain. As for a restful sleep, this is a witch’s bag specifically designed to ward off any unpleasant thoughts or dreams that might otherwise keep you awake.”

Virgil felt his heart swell again but then it came crashing.

“Logan, I can’t buy these. I… I don’t have any money,” Virgil admitted.

It was one of the things that he hated about his wandering lifestyle. He could never build up funds. On the rare occasion that he had actual money in his hand, it would soon be gone for food or shelter. He never had money to buy anything else.

“It’s on the house,” Logan insisted.

“No, I really can’t take them then,” Virgil argued, trying to gently push them across the table and back to Logan. “I can’t let you do that.”

“Nonsense,” Logan said, pushing them back towards Virgil. “It is mine and Patton’s shop and we get to decide what to do with our inventory. Patton explicitly told me to help you, if I could.”

That surprised Virgil. How could Patton say something like that?

“Really? How? I… other than almost killing him, I still drenched him, and then _ran away_. Why would he tell you to help me?”

“That’s our Patton,” Logan said, almost a little dreamily. “And I know he was soaked through. He returned and he was so busy ranting about you that it took me a full ten minutes before I could get those wet clothes off him.”

Virgil tried not to blush at the imagery of Logan running around after Patton telling him to get undressed. His poor gay heart was going through a lot these days.

“He sure is something.”

“He is wonderful,” Logan agreed, even if Virgil hadn’t specified what he meant. Somehow, Logan was still spot on with what he had meant. “But even without his encouragement, I would still have given you these, Virgil. Can I tell you something about this shop?”

Virgil nodded.

“It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. To have a space to tinker, make inventions, in part just because it is fascinating and exciting to make new potions, but the novelty would have worn off quickly if they did not go to a good cause. We help people. Ease their pain, heal their wounds and grant them peace of mind. That has always been the mission of this place. And now you have to let it help you,” Logan said and lifted the pouch and the vial off the table and pressed them into Virgil’s hand. “Take them.”

Virgil didn’t know how to say no to that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](https://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com/post/625814560109182977/shy-like-a-kurinji-flower-sanders-sides-witch-au)
> 
> And so we got to meet Logan! As you can see this fic is built in a bit of a pattern, so guess who we're meeting in the next chapter! I love Virgil and Logan's dynamic so, so much despite never having written them in a romantic pairing before. I think I need to get on that at some point too, but for now I'll enjoy these early tendrils of affection before we get all the four boys together. Please let me know what you thought in the comments below.
> 
> Next chapter update should be on Friday, around 8 PM CEST
> 
> Again a reminder that I'm doing PEDIA, so if you read anything other than Sanders Sides, you might find something to take your fancy on my profile.


	3. Embrace the bravery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil isn't sure what to make of how he seems to find himself called back to the volcano village once more. It both terrifies and excites him in equal measure, even when he find himself facing a boisterous warrior and a deadly beast, he can't even be mad that he went back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted unedited since it's already late, so apologies for any errors. Enjoy!

Virgil hadn’t expected the potion to work. He had long since given up on finding something that could give him peace of mind. He had left the potion shop with the potion and the witch bag only because Logan refused to take them back.

He had contemplated just tossing them in the bottom of his bag, or maybe letting them sit out next to the flower that Patton had gifted him but that had felt wrong.

And Virgil had to admit that he was a little curious. While he had been on medication before, he hadn’t ever turned to witches for a remedy. It had seemed taboo and like they would just scam him. He had heard too many stories of people who thought they could get a potion to help only for it not to have any effect at all.

It was how the stories of scammer witches got started in the first place. Virgil didn’t doubt that they existed, scum could come from any species, but he wondered if they had been greatly exaggerated. Maybe it was just a horrible minority of witches painting every single one out to be bad.

The old lady in the village as well as the innkeeper certainly seemed to be very happy with the potions that they had been given. The innkeeper had been happy to accept the potion for her son that Virgil brought back and she had shaken her head fondly at Logan rejecting payment for it. She said that she would just try to sneak the money back through Roman.

Logan and Patton would have gone out of business if not for him, she had told Virgil before she was whisked away to deal with a customer and left Virgil to wonder about how Roman fit into everything at the shop. Virgil knew he was the third man on the photo collage but he still didn’t have a grasp of his significance yet.

He was feeling himself get too interested in the witches from the village and it would only lead him down the path of heartbreak. He could already tell that he had crushes forming on both Patton and Logan and frankly, he didn’t need the added pressure of falling yet another man with a gorgeous smile.

Roman had looked like the kind of trouble younger Virgil would have run headfirst into.

He promised himself that he would leave the inn the following morning and he would actually go through with it this time. As such, he didn’t think there was harm in trying out the potion and the witch bag, at least just once. If it did nothing, then that would be fine and he would just continue on with his life.

He didn’t want to consider what would happen if the opposite occurred.

The drop from the anxiety reducer potion tasted sweet on his tongue and the flavor spread widely even if Virgil had made sure only to squeeze the pipette to let out a single drop. He didn’t feel any immediate effects and put the potion away.

As he got settled into bed, he put the witch bag under his pillow like Logan had instructed. It smelled a little funny to his nose but Virgil had long since gotten used to sleeping in places where the spells or the foundations weren’t ideal. It came with the territory of being a wanderer.

Anxiety and insomnia could keep him awake but his environment was never the problem. He had fallen asleep standing up once before, which had been a rude awakening when he had suddenly fallen down.

It normally took him at least a few minutes of lying down before he could feel himself drifting off, and most days it took even longer.

By the time Virgil woke the next, he couldn’t even remember falling asleep. Mostly he noticed that there was sun directly in his eyes which had not happened on any of the other days that he had woken up in his temporary bed in the inn.

He rubbed his eyes, trying to orient himself and he was surprised to see that it was so sunny outside. Half in panic and half in wonder, he stumbled out of bed and leaned out of the window to see that the town was already bustling.

It was moving too fast for early in the morning and the sun was in the middle of the sky. It must be past noon already. Virgil couldn’t make sense of it at all. He hadn’t gone particularly late to bed, which meant he must have slept well over 12 hours. He had never slept that long in his life without waking up in between.

He rushed to his bed to pull out the little witch bag and started at it in wonder. It looked just the same, a soft leather pouch holding what smelled like herbs. Nothing extraordinary but it clearly must be.

What was even more amazing was that Virgil’s racing heart, brought on by the confusion and wonder, didn’t make him feel panicked. Generally, he tried to avoid things that would get his heartbeat up, like running or caffeine because his body would mistake it for the early tendrils of a panic attack.

It didn’t feel as bad as it usually did even if he could feel the slight shaking of his nervous system. Virgil pulled the vial out of his bag and tried to see if he could read anything on it. But there was nothing more than the neat handwriting on the label. No ingredients and not even any instructions on how to consume it.

Virgil realized that he had actually put a lot of trust into the word of a stranger. Logan could have tried to poison him and Virgil would just have died. It was an unpleasant thought, but then Virgil noticed the flower on the bedside table. Logan and Patton didn’t seem like bad guys, not at all.

Virgil couldn’t help but wish that he had friends like them growing up. If he had been around other queer witches then it probably wouldn’t have been so bad and isolating.

Virgil carefully took another drop of the potion, and this time it tasted sour on his tongue. He stared at the potion in wonder and he felt that his curiosity just grew and grew. He needed to know more, and all thoughts of leaving the town, the village and the witches behind was forgotten as Virgil hastily got dressed.

The innkeeper smiled as he came stumbling down the stairs and he realized the lunch crowd was already in.

“You slept in long today,” she said, speaking softly. “Good sleep?”

Virgil wondered for a beat if she actually knew something and she was in cahoots with the witches from the potion shop somehow but there was nothing in her expression to give anything away. She seemed just as kind as ever.

And that was when Virgil was reminded that he was staying here only because of doing her errands, as small and odd as they had seemed. He couldn’t just stay. She was probably expecting him to leave now that she had nothing more for him to do.

“Fuck, I overslept. Did you need the bed for someone else? I’ll rush up and tidy up, I promise I’ll get it done in a-”

“Calm down, boy,” the innkeeper said, cutting off his rambling. “The bed is not needed today. You’re free to stay another night. Now, what would you like for lunch?”

Virgil was once more blown away by her kindness and hospitability but he had taken far too much advantage of it. It couldn’t go on.

“You have already done so much for me,” he said, head bowed. “I’ll be out of your hair today, I promise.”

Dear boy, you are not listening,” the innkeeper said sternly and she didn’t continue until Virgil raised his eyes and looked at her. “You are not intruding and you are not in the way. You have been helping me out with things that no one else would consider. And right now, you look like you need roots.”

“Roots?” Virgil asked.

The innkeeper smiled warmly. “Everyone needs roots. You look like you’re been running for a very long time. Maybe it’s time you stop.”

“Stop?”

“Go visit the village,” she said, knowing. “You come back with a bigger and bigger smile each time. It’s lovely. I can only imagine that it must be nice to find your people. You look like you’ve been looking for them a long time.”

Her words set of a panic within Virgil even if they were spoken so gently.

“You know?” he asked, and then lowered his voice. “You know I’m a witch?”

“Boy, I have known from the moment you agree to walk up to the village for me,” she said with a smile. “You agreed so easily, so I figured you never had a reason to fear the horror stories of the witches.”

“Then why would you give me shelter?” Virgil asked. He had always kept his witch heritage a secret because he knew he would be refused service and help almost everywhere if people knew.

“Because I have always wanted to be on the right side of history,” she said. “Now, shoo and find a table and I’ll bring you some food.”

An hour later, Virgil started to walk up the mountain for a third time. The path seemed so strikingly familiar to him now. He could recognize the trees and the flowers along the path as if he had walked this path for years and not just three times.

Maybe that was why he noticed when one tree was bend at an odd angle. It looked like it had been subjected to a very strong wind but there hadn’t been any storm since yesterday.

Virgil stepped a little away from the path, his curiosity carrying him closer and when he got close to the tree, he could see the deep ridges into the trunk. They looked like claw marks.

Instantly, Virgil felt himself get nervous, even more so when he could see more trees leading into the forest seemed equally bend. He should just have gone back to the path and forgotten about it but he couldn’t shake the nagging feeling that something was very wrong.

What if someone was in danger?

Whatever had left those marks was big and it had moved with a lot of power. It could be chasing someone. If it was a witch, they might be able to handle themselves, but what if they were young? Virgil thought back to the group of children that had greeted him last time he had gone to the village and he started to move further into the forest on autopilot.

He hadn’t tried to weaponize his lightning powers often, because the thought terrified him a little but he did know that they were powerful and he was potentially better equipped to handle whatever monster might be roaming the forest.

It was odd to even see tracks from a monster in here, because the innkeeper had explicitly told him that this area didn’t suffer at the hands of such things.

Virgil moved swiftly through the underbrush, even as branches caught on his clothing. It wasn’t like it wasn’t worn and torn in some places already. He persevered and then he heard it.

A growl so deem that it seemed to rattle his bones and it sounded close. A second later, a voice sounded and it sounded taunting but Virgil couldn’t make out the words. He started running and running.

Now it felt like the brushes around him did everything they could to bend out of his way and he stumbled past the last tree line with a bit of surprise.

The first thing he noticed was the beautiful waterfall in front of him.

The second thing he noticed was the terrifying chimera growling viciously.

The third thing he noticed was a man dressed in red and white banishing a sword.

Virgil had to just stop and stare for a moment to take it all in.

The chimera snarled and growled as it advanced towards the man, and then Virgil noticed that its tail had a snake head. He vaguely recalled having been told that about the creature but he had never actually seen one in real life. It was enough to deal with it being a huge lion with a goat’s head growing out of its back too. While the goat and lion head seemed focused on the man in red and white, who was now brandishing a glowing sword, the snake head noticed Virgil and started hissing.

Virgil really didn’t like snake and he froze up for a moment.

The chimera’s goat head turned to stare at him now and the other man noticed him.

“Get out of here!” he shouted. “I’ve got this!”

He rushed forward managing to barely nick the chimera’s leg with his sword but it didn’t seem to affect it at all. The creature swung a paw that the man had to dash and roll to avoid. As he stumbled onto his feet, slightly out of range from the growling beast, and closer to Virgil he got a good look at the man’s face.

He was handsome, Virgil noticed first, but then he took in the familiarity about him. It was the man from Logan and Patton’s pictures.

“Roman?”

Roman perked up, taking his eyes away from the chimera and looking at Virgil. He looked confused but then he looked absolutely delighted.

“Of course! You must have heard about my heroic adventures! I will sign anything you want as soon as I have dealt with this foul beast!” Roman promised before he charged in with his sword again.

Virgil tried to open his mouth to argue but Roman was very clearly not listening, as he darted around the beast trying to slash at it. He wasn’t really getting anywhere other than keeping it occupied and maybe tiring it out. He had a bow and quiver strapped to his back, which would have been Virgil preferred weapon over a sword when it seemed Roman couldn’t get close enough to do actual damage.

Even so, Virgil could admit that it was magnificent to watch Roman agilely dart around the chimera. He was clearly an experienced fighter and he managed to evade attack after attack. It almost looked like a choreographed dance and Virgil found himself a little spellbound.

Too spellbound because too soon, the chimera tired of swiping after Roman and deal with his cuts and instead it turned all its attention on Virgil. All three heads locked onto him and it pounced.

Virgil didn’t have fighting experience, not like Roman clearly did, but Virgil had excellent fight and flight reflexes and he managed to dash out of range just in time of a swipe of the gigantic claws.

As he rolled and got back up again, his hood flew down over his head and he dashed forward to get further away from the creature. He was fine, and if he wasn’t fine, he knew his instincts would kick in and lighting would come to help him fight instead but Roman seemed to be under the impression that he was a damsel in distress.

He rushed over to Virgil’s side moving to put himself between Virgil and the chimera.

“What are you doing? This is stupid, now we’re just easier to hit,” Virgil hissed.

“You are in need of protection and I’m more than capable of looking after both myself and you,” Roman said, looking over his shoulder and then goddamn winking.

If Virgil wasn’t so exasperated and slightly offended, he would have been charmed by that wink and that gleaming smile. It surely made something twist in his stomach even with the annoyance.

But Roman was the one who needed protection because he was too busy being smart and flirting, if that was even what he was doing, to notice that the chimera moved to strike again. But the time he had turned his focus towards the beast, it was too late for him to draw his sword up to protect himself.

Virgil reacted instinctively that time too, moving to push Roman out of the way and take the damage himself. He regretted it instantly when he felt claws rip deep into his arm, tearing clothes and flesh in equal measure. He was a little surprised at himself more than anything. He was a coward and he didn’t just step in to protect other people did he? He didn’t know Roman, even if he had met a couple of people who knew the adventurer. He should not be risking his life.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?” Roman asked, managing to slash out at the chimera now and make it draw back for a moment.

“Stupid questions will not be answered,” Virgil said, getting to his feet where he had fallen down and cradling his arm to his chest. It hurt and he knew it was bad news but it probably wasn’t life threatening as long as it hadn’t cut deep enough to open his main artery. If that was the case, he was probably toast soon anyway.

“But you-”

“Just fight the damn chimera, princey,” Virgil said, not even knowing where the nickname came from other than Roman’s attire and insistence on treating Virgil like a princess in a pinch.

Frankly, he had come here to help Roman and all that it had gotten was him cut up and in pain. He really should just learn to mind his own business.

The chimera was bleeding more than Virgil had realized and he could see now that all the small cuts had slowly been draining it from blood and it looked worse for wear. But it was still not bad enough to go down and, in its desperation, it was being more and more vicious.

Roman was once more too focused looking at Virgil and not the chimera, which finally managed to get the drop on him. He was thrown back as the creature settled with its huge paws on his shoulders. His sword had been knocked out of his hand at the impact.

Virgil really wanted to roll his eyes, because this dude had clearly known how to fight well until he had been distracted by something as simple as someone else being near too. Virgil hadn’t asked for or needed his help and Roman would have been so much better off if he had just focused on the chimera and not on being the damsel rescuer or whatever he fancied himself.

Now it was up to Virgil to save him. 

Virgil reached his uninjured hand up towards the sky and for the first time ever in his whole life, he called on the lightening with a specific purpose. He had counted on it coming by itself to save him from trouble but he needed to summon it, to control it to use it to save someone else, but he didn’t have time to doubt his abilities with Roman just seconds from getting his face eaten off.

Virgil screamed and yanked his hand downwards and he felt himself pull all the electricity out of the air around them. It condensed around his fist, dancing over his skin in a way that felt both familiar and new.

It made him feel in control and powerful in a way that he never had before. The lightening didn’t overtake him. He controlled it. He threw his hand forward, ignoring the pain shooting up his other arm and he felt the lightening bolt leave.

He saw it hit its target perfectly, aimed right at the heart of the chimera who flew off Roman with one of the most horrifying howls that Virgil had ever seen. It rolled three or four times before it finally came to stop. The air smelled burned and the mane on the chimera looked completely singed. But it didn’t move. Not anymore.

Virgil stumbled to his knees, feeling overwhelmed both with the pain and the power. He let out a shaky breath. This was not what he had imagined he would do today, even as he had climbed the volcano to get to the village, but it seemed that this place lived to surprise him.

“That was awesome!” Roman said, coming running up to Virgil and waving his arms around. “How did you even do that! You’re a witch obviously but a you must be a rare type. How could you just grab lightning out from thin air! I’ve never seen anything like it.”

It was new, hearing his lightening being described as something cool. It had never really happened before. Patton’s words had probably been the closest, complimenting how he had moved to redirect the lightening.

But he had never heard anyone sound so excited. It was kind of exhilarating. Or maybe it was the blood loss. Virgil clutched his arm a little tighter. The dark fabric probably hid how much he was bleeding but he could feel it had seeped all the way through already.

“You should have been more careful,” Virgil bit out, always a little defensive when he was vulnerable. “It wouldn’t have gotten you if you had paid attention.”

Roman let out an offended huff. “Paid attention? Excuse me, I was trying to save your ass.”

“I can save my own ass just fine,” Virgil said and got to his feet, by gridding his teeth and running on sheer determination. It didn’t last long and he swayed a little.

“Hey,” Roman said, and his obnoxiously loud voice shifted to something gentler. “You’re hurt. Here, let me help. Let’s go to the water.”

“If you think I’m getting my wound anywhere near a puddle af water, then you’re insane. I’ll get an infection,” Virgil said.

Roman rolled his eyes. “It’s not regular water. Do you really think that a waterfall can just appear on the side of a volcano all by itself? No way. It’s a witches’ waterfall and you’ll find no clearer water anywhere. Come on.”

Virgil was worried and he didn’t even want to begin to assess the damage but the truth was that he wasn’t in any shape to deny help, or even move very far away on his own. The village couldn’t be far away if they were at the waterfall, he reasoned, based on the crossroad sign he usually saw. He was more impressed that he had managed to find this place through wading through the forest.

Roman’s hands were warm as they gently touched Virgil’s shoulder and guided him towards the water. Virgil flinched a little, which made his arm hurt more, but he didn’t pull away. He let himself be guided just for once.

Peeling off the hoodie hurt entirely too much, so Roman fetched his sword and cut away the rest of the tattered material clinging to his wound. Virgil mourned for his lost hoodie, knowing he would have many cold nights without this one when he went back to wandering.

If he went back to wandering. He hadn’t been able to do it so far. He had a feeling that things were changing for him and he felt less and less likely to protest against it.

Roman held Virgil’s arm as they moved it into the clear water. It felt pleasant and cooling on Virgil’s heated skin and it didn’t hurt like he had thought it would. He felt almost guilty that his blood painted red streaks through the clear and pure water.

Roman’s face grew more concerned as they could get a close look at the wounds now that the excess blood was washed away. Virgil couldn’t even really look at it without something turning in his stomach.

Three deep gashes had hit him across his lower arm and he knew it would leave horrible scars just from looking at them. He needed medical attention to them but he already knew that was a lost cause. He didn’t have the funds for a doctor’s visit, but the wounds would clearly need stitches.

“Hold on,” Roman said, letting go of Virgil’s arm in the water. “Keep it in, for me, yeah?”

Virgil nodded, even if part of him wanted to pull it out just out of spite. He couldn’t make himself do that when it felt so pleasant to have in it the water.

Roman got to his feet and glanced around a couple of times before reaching for the bow strapped to his back. He pulled out a red arrow and aimed it directly at the sky. It made Virgil want to take cover, worried that the arrow would come right back towards them again.

Roman didn’t seem to hold such concerns and he just fired the arrow. Virgil moved to duck his head but he soon saw that the arrow didn’t come back at all. It hovered in the air, emitting a red light as well as a light but insistent buzzing. Virgil had never quite seen anything like it.

“What’s that for?” Virgil asked, still looking up at the arrow.

“Reinforcements,” Roman said with a happy smile. 

Virgil wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he knew better than to question it. Roman came back to kneel beside him.

“Careful,” Virgil hissed as Roman dipped his hands under the water to grab Virgil’s arm again.

“Sorry,” Roman said purposely making his movements gentler. “Warrior’s hands.”

Virgil wasn’t sure why that made him chuckle all of a sudden. It must be the blood loss. He wasn’t sure if the blood loss was also responsible for him being unable to take his eyes off of Roman’s broad shoulders. He was pretty sure that was just his inner gay but he was more than happy to blame it on the blood loss.

Three crushes.

At the same time?

Virgil knew he had experienced it before. He got crushes entirely too easily, even if he was too scared to do anything about them most of the time. But he had never had it happen on people who all knew each other. He wondered if they would think him weird or freaky if they knew. He decided that he would never speak of it to save himself the embarrassment.

“You’re fine,” Virgil said, voice coming out a little too gentle. He coughed and tried to rough it up. “Whatever.”

Roman flashed him a smile and it was blinding. Virgil was sure he actually blinked a couple more times than necessary to deal with it.

“Where did you come running from anyway? I’ve been a way for a couple of weeks but I doubt that the village has suddenly become a tourist attraction. Unless of course you’re a new citizen? Oh, please tell me you are. That would be so cool.”

“Huh?” Virgil said, trying to mentally comprehend that Roman sounded so freaking excited about the prospect of having Virgil live near him. No one had ever expressed anything like that and it did something funny with Virgil’s heart.

Definitely three crushes at the same time, he mumbled to himself but Roman was too caught up in his own words to pay any attention to Virgil’s hidden mutters.

“I have longed for someone who can accompany me on quests! Another fighter!” Roman said and did a pose with his hands in the air that would have looked silly if he didn’t do it with such confidence.

Virgil was a little alarmed that Roman was getting the very wrong idea about him.

“Nah, I’m not a fighter, not at all,” Virgil said.

His words made Roman drop his hands and look at Virgil with a confused expression before looking over at the fried chimera.

“Are you sure?” Roman asked skeptically.

Virgil pulled his shoulder back a little, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m not usually a fighter,” he corrected.

Something shifted in Roman’s expression. He slouched more, getting closer to Virgil and one eyebrow went up along with part of his lip.

“So, are you a lover then?” Roman asked, almost coyly tilting his head a little to the side.

It was the most blatantly that Virgil had ever been flirted with by anyone, let alone anyone he was interested in. He wasn’t proud to say that he felt his whole body flush, despite the bad flirting only because it was so forward and cocksure. Roman didn’t even know if Virgil was taken or if he even liked boys, let alone had any interest in getting involved with a fellow witch. He had read about it being very explosive and contradictive at times.

Yet, Roman just flirted with him. Just like that. Just like his openness and the bravery of the act wasn’t something revolutionary to Virgil’s poor closeted ass. Virgil was really tired of having these revelations on the side of this volcano but at the same time, he was hungry for more.

Still, Roman seemed to realize that Virgil had just frozen up at the flirty remark.

“Ah, I do apologize, I only meant to kid and-”

“Oh. You were kidding?” Virgil asked, not sure why that hurt so much. It shouldn’t have.

Roman looked very confused but he rushed to explain, waving his hands back and forth.

“No, no, I meant it. You are very cute and I cannot resist a cute face. Just ask my boyfriends.”

For a beat, Virgil wondered if he was dreaming and he would have been inclined to pinch himself, if it wasn’t for the ringing pain still in his arm. Dreams weren’t supposed to be painful like that. He had felt the claws rip into his flesh, so he wasn’t dreaming.

Perhaps hallucinating? Maybe chimera’s had poison with hallucinogenic properties in their claws or something.

Did Roman just said he flirted and called him cute, despite being taken himself, but not one but two boys? Virgil’s brain felt like it had gone into error mode.

“Ah, speak of the sun and the moon,” Roman said waving behind Virgil.

Virgil turned around to see none other than Patton and Logan coming their way. He felt like his brain just shut off completely at that.

They both looked good too, even if he could have done without the heartbreakingly worried expressions on their faces. Logan was carrying what looked like to be a heavy large bag over his shoulder and Patton was skipping ahead.

“Roman! You’re back,” Patton called lovingly. “Are you hurt? Hi again Virgil. Wait, Virgil is hurt? My poor baby!”

Patton was next to Virgil and Roman in a second and Roman let out an offended huff.

“How do you know his name? Why is he your baby? I’m your baby! Okay, I’ll admit that he’s cute but we all promised each other that we’d talk about anyone who caught out interest together. Did you and Logan take on another while I was away?” Roman asked, and he was pouting. Exaggeratedly.

Patton seemed to have only been listening with half an ear, eyes scanning over Virgil’s arm in the water, and only when he seemed to determine that it wasn’t a life-threatening injury, did he turn back to Roman.

“No, of course you’re still my baby, RoRo,” Patton said and leaned over to kiss Roman right on the mouth.

It wasn’t a graphic kiss, just a bit more than a peck but there was something about the familiarity of it that made it feel intimate to watch. Virgil felt like he was intruding and he would have tried to move away but his arm still felt heavy, hurt and now also water-logged.

“Salutations, Roman,” Logan said, walking up at a steadier tempo. “Good to have you back. Why is there a chimera on my volcano and why have you gotten Virgil hurt?”

“Hey! Firstly, I love you and come give me a kiss,” Roman demanded, all but dragging Logan in by the neck to plant one on him. Despite Logan rolling his eyes before he closed them, he also leaned into the kiss with the same familiar that Roman and Patton had. “Secondly, the chimera seemed to have followed me and emo boy here came out of nowhere and distracted me! You know I can’t handle a pretty face! I told him!”

“Emo boy? I resent that,” Virgil said.

“Is that really how it went down?” Logan asked, getting on his knees and shifting closer to Virgil. “So, if we do a reenactment charm that’s all we’ll see. Looks like the chimera is a victim of lighting, which I believe is Virgil here’s specialty.”

“Okay, fine. But I had it under control until Virgil got here. I was just trying to be dashing prince hero adventurer.”

“You are all of those things and more,” Patton said, leaning over to cup Roman’s cheeks and give them a light squeeze.

“No one here doubts your ability. I was merely enquiring about what had occurred,” Logan said. “Virgil, how is the pain?”

“On a scale?” Virgil asked, glad to be able to focus on something that made more sense that the three boys in front of him.

Or really, they made perfect sense now that he saw them together, but he had just never thought such a thing was possible. He had heard about the deviant ways of both the gays and the witches and he knew many people back in his home town would hate seeing what Virgil was seeing right now.

Again, he couldn’t help but feeling floored that they were just showing it so openly. Even thinking back, he was sure both Patton and Logan had spoken about Roman as their significant other as well but Virgil just had never considered the possibility. He knew so many people from his past that would have spit insults at the three boys and shown disgust and yet they were just out here bravely existing and not hiding.

“Virgil?” Logan called gently. “Are you okay?”

“Is he blacking out?” Patton asked worriedly.

“No,” Virgil said with a shake of his head. “Sorry, just thinking… err, the pain isn’t too bad. Like a 2 maybe.”

Logan hummed. “And what scale are you using?”

“Up to 10, right?”

Roman barked out a laugh. “I have seen injuries like that. I have had injuries like that! It isn’t a 2 at all. At best it’s like a 6 or 7, even if the water might be helping a little.”

“Well, if ten in the most pain I can imagine then no, it’s a 2,” Virgil argued.

It caused Patton to pull out big puppy dog eyes and he reached out to hold Virgil’s uninjured hand. He squeezed it hard. “I’m so sorry you’ve been hurt so much.”

Virgil almost wanted to recoil. He hadn’t realized that Patton would see through the nuances of his statement. But he was right. Virgil had felt a little too much pain in his life. His wounded arm wasn’t so bad. He was just worried about how he’d get to a doctor and get stitches.

“Can you lift your arm out?” Logan asked.

Virgil tried but it did feel really heavy. Was it supposed to feel that heavy, or had all his strength just drained out of him?

“Roman, assistance, please,” Logan said, moving back a little so Roman could gently fish Virgil’s arm out of the water. He held onto Virgil’s elbow and wrist very carefully.

It looked better now with the blood away but taking it out of the water made it sting a little.

“Any chance you have a cheap doctor in the village?” Virgil tried to joke.

Logan frowned. “Why would you need a doctor? Let alone one that would not cost much?”

“I think he meant for the wound, Logan,” Patton said. “Remember, Virgil isn’t used to witchy stuff.”

“Patton, we have been over this. Witches cannot call out actual practices witchy stuff,” Logan said with a sigh.

“Sounds kind of cool though,” Roman said, flashing a smile first at Patton and then at Logan.

“Why I put up with you is sometimes beyond me,” Logan muttered, seemingly to himself but he couldn’t stop the genuine smile on his face. It was much more telling than his words. “Well, Virgil you will not need a doctor. We can take care of a wound like this just fine. Patton, the cloth and the healing balm please.”

Patton rummaged through the huge bag that Logan had sat down next to them and moments later Logan held what felt like a very soft cloth bandage under his arm and Patton was putting on a glove on his left hand.

“What’s that?” Virgil asked instantly anxious, but not nearly as anxious as he was knowing that he was just protesting for the sake of it. He would probably let these witches do anything to him.

Anything.

He needed to get his head back off the ground before his mind crawled into the gutter. The only thing he would find in that place would be sadness and heartbreak. It was foolish to even get his hopes up for something that could never be a reality.

Well, it seemed it was a reality already, he thought a little bit in wonder watching the three gay witches work together so seamlessly.

But he knew it was too much to hope that it could be _his_ reality. 

“It will accelerate your healing by quite a lot,” Logan said. “Now sit still.”

“Wait, isn’t that expensive? You can’t give me more free stuff. I don’t have the money to pay you, please just help me like get down to the town and I’ll figure something out,” Virgil said and tried to get to his feet.

He refused to take advantage of their kindness. He had yet to come across kindness like it and he didn’t want it snuffed out because he conned them out of too many of their potions or their time.

“Nonsense,” Roman said and moved one arm from Virgil’s wrist to settle it on his shoulder instead. There was no way Virgil could get up under that steady pressure.

“Of course, we’re going to help you! You got hurt! The payment doesn’t matter. We’ll happily give you it, won’t we, Logan?”

Virgil looked at Logan in anticipation. Logan seemed like he was sensible. Obviously a business man wouldn’t once more give away his products for free. He had already given Virgil two things for free. The kindness had to end. Right?

“I can confirm we will be more than happy to give it to you for free. As I told you before, we made the potion shop to be able to help. Now let us help. Sit still.”

Virgil was trapped between all of them and he felt both a little annoyed and very comforted by that. Patton squeezed his hand. Roman had one hand on his elbow and one on his shoulder and Logan’s right hand supported the underside of Virgil’s arm while his gloved hand started to rub in the balm.

Virgil had brace for a sting or anything but it just felt lovely and cooling, just like water had felt when Roman had first dipped his arm in.

Virgil wasn’t sure why all of this made him feel emotional. He almost wanted to cry. In the midst of the three witches he felt so taken care of and comforted. He had never felt anything like it in his life. He had to bite back a sniffle.

Roman seemed to notice, being the closest to him but instead of pointing it out, he just launched into a dramatic retelling of the chimera attack that wasn’t even particularly accurate. He described himself as the dashing hero, of course, but Virgil was surprised to hear the words Roman used about him.

He had expected to be painted out like a damsel in distress but instead he was a mysterious badass showing up out of nowhere making the hero flustered. Virgil had snorted at that part.

They listened to Roman, who then started to catch his two boyfriends and by sheer proximity Virgil as well, on all the adventures he had had in the two weeks he had evidently been gone. About halfway through the story, Virgil realized that Roman was the person who normally carried things from the town to the village or vice versa.

Virgil had to admit that Roman was a good storyteller, even if he clearly played up the dramatics a bit. Virgil found himself listening intensely. Not as intensely as Patton who was constantly gasping or awing but certainly more than Logan who just hummed every now and again to show that he was listening.

Then again, Logan continued to work the balm into the wounds, running his fingers over the skin in patterns that Virgil had a feeling meant something. In between one of Roman’s stories, he looked down at his arm to see that the wounds had already started to close up.

“Holy shit,” Virgil swore, resisting the urge to twist his arm closer to have a closer look.

“Language!” Patton shrieked.

“Oh, sorry, Patton,” Virgil said, a little embarrassed.

“Oh, no, it’s already. I just… I don’t like swearing much. Old habit with this one to try to correct him to using proper language,” Patton said and pointed a thumb in direction of Roman.

“Swearing is part of the language. You are limiting my creativity for not allowing me to use it,” Roman said, pouting once again.

“Boys, we have had this conversation before,” Logan said, calmly and now he moved to wrap the cloth around Virgil’s arm. “And it ended with us all agreeing that Roman can swear as much as he likes, just not in Patton’s company.”

“But that’s still not fair, because I want to be in Patton’s company all the time,” Roman said and leaned so much into Patton’s side that he almost tipped him over. He would have dragged Virgil with them, because while Roman had eventually let go to tell his stories with too many gestures, Patton was still holding Virgil’s hand.

“Do you see what I deal with?” Logan said, almost playfully, but Virgil was surprised to see it directed at him. Like they were one and the same. It made his heart ache a little.

“Yeah, they’re adorable,” Virgil said and then winced. It was not the adjective that he had been going for but it was the one that had slipped out. It was true but it was a little too honest.

“You think we’re adorable!” Roman exclaimed while Patton started to coo.

Virgil knew he had to be properly blushing now.

“Stop embarrassing him,” Logan said, almost protectively.

“But he is adorable, can we adopt him please?” Roman asked. “Wait, you all didn’t even tell you how he met him! Have you been to the village for all these weeks, Virgil?”

Virgil shifted uncomfortably in his seat, remembering how badly things had gone when he had met Patton. He was worried Roman would be angry but then again, Logan had taken it much better than expected. Virgil was pretty sure he would be toast if Roman decided to come at him with his enchanted sword.

“We have only meet him once each,” Logan replied for Virgil when he did nothing more than squirm. “Patton met him two days ago, while out gathering flowers and Virgil came to the potion shop yesterday on an errand of the innkeeper.”

“Oh, Gladys! How is she?” Roman asked.

Virgil wasn’t sure that was the innkeeper’s actual name but he realized that he had never gotten it. He felt a little bad considering how much she had helped him out.

“She’s good,” Virgil said with a cough. “She’s very kind.”

“She’s awesome,” Roman agreed. “I wanted to stop by on my way here but I was too excited to get home, and I was a little worried something was following me home.”

“Should we ask why?” Logan asked. “Did you get in trouble with someone powerful again?”

Again? Virgil thought but he wasn’t surprised to hear it.

“We’ll scare them off if need be,” Patton said and he sounded absolutely serious, even if he looked about as intimidating as a marshmallow.

“No, I think we’re okay. I’ll fill you in one everything later.”

“Okay,” Logan said and put Virgil’s arm carefully back in his lap. “You’re all set.”

He did actually feel so much better. His arm still felt a little heavy but the pain had almost entirely subsided. It was like nothing he had ever seen before.

“That balm is incredible,” Virgil praised. “I’ve heard about witches being skilled but this is a whole other level.

This was the first time he had ever seen Logan properly flustered.

“See, Logan,” Patton said, smiling so sweetly. “And you can’t say Virgil is biased and overestimating you because he isn’t one of your boyfriends.”

Logan cleared his throat and straightened his tie.

Virgil found that he wanted to see more of that vulnerability. Roman and Patton was much more open with everything but Logan seemed to need a little pushing, or rather a gentle nudge. Virgil knew he needed it sometimes.

“I also had the best sleep ever thanks to the anxiety reducer potion and the witch bag. Like more hours than I ever thought I’d sleep,” Virgil said, not even considering that he was also laying himself bare to praise Logan.

It was worth it for the smiles on all three of the witches’ faces and Virgil wondered if three people had ever smiled this genuinely at him at the same time. Probably not. He should get out of here. He was falling in too deep. He would fall in love with all of them if he wasn’t careful.

It was just crushes now but with each moment that passed he could feel himself growing more and more attached. It felt intoxicating and thrilling and even the thought of pulling back hurt him.

“Logan, I agree with Roman, can we please keep him?” Patton said, leaning in to Logan’s side while squeezing Virgil’s hand.

Logan let out a fond huff. “You would face no objections from me, but you do both realize that none of you have asked Virgil, correct?”

Patton and Roman looked at each other, a little panicked.

“Wait, yes, I didn’t even, I just assumed, I thought but… oh, god.”

“Patton, calm down, there’s no way someone dressing like that is straight,” Roman said.

“That’s stereotyping, Roman,” Logan objected.

“Correct stereotyping,” he said back poking his tongue out.

Virgil was really not following at all. He attributed it to the kind of haze of comfort he felt around the three of them, even as they had been patching up his wound. It had been a lot just to meet every one of them but they were so much more to take in when all together.

Virgil just had one panicked, but very gay heart.

“Wait, what’s going on?” Virgil asked.

“I merely informed Patton and Roman that they should probably make sure to check if you are even available and interested in men in general before even trying to ask you out.”

“Ask me out! Wait, what? Aren’t you all together? All three.”

“Yes,” Roman said. “But the more the merrier.”

“It really doesn’t work like that,” Logan argued.

“No, but we have talked about dating more people if the right people came along,” Patton said, gently.

“Dating!” Virgil exclaimed.

“Yes? Do you need an explanation?” Logan asked. “The three of us are in a committed polygamous relationship and it seems that you have all caught our interest. But before we could even consider acting on any interest, we should find out if you would even be susceptible.”

“Very romantic way of putting it, Lo,” Roman said, lathed with sarcasm.

The sarcasm seemed to go entirely over Logan’s head.

“Thank you, Roman.”

“Okay, Virgil, I’m going to need you to take a deep breath for me,” Patton said and only then did Virgil noticed that he had clenched his fists and he was digging his nails into his skin.

“Deep breath in, hold in, and then exhale,” Logan said, seemingly caught on to Virgil’s mounting panic thanks to Patton.

Virgil took the moment to breathe and he closed his eyes as to not have to look to the three attractive set of eyes looking at him. As he breathed, his thoughts ran wild. They couldn’t be implying what he had thought that they were, could they? It almost sounded like they wanted to try to date him, as well as each other. It was too much. He was not good enough for any of them. They all seemed perfect. Perfect alone but even more perfect together. He would undoubtedly fuck that up, if he even considered getting closer to them.

But they had sounded genuine.

It was a little much to take in.

Once Virgil’s breathing had calmed down, he opened his eyes again.

“I am sorry if we overwhelmed you,” Logan said.

“We never meant to do that. Sorry, kiddo,” Patton said.

“We apologize, but you are just so intriguing, we couldn’t help but see possibilities for even more of a happy ever after,” Roman added.

It was all so sweet but felt almost too good to be true. One didn’t just wander into mysterious woods on the way to a witch village and accidentally find someone to spend their life with. Let alone three someone’s.

“Virgil, I understand if it is too private but I must admit that we are curious how you even feel about the idea? You are quite difficult to read,” Logan said. “To me, at least.”

“Me too,” Roman said, pouting once again. It would be annoying if it didn’t look so damn cute.

“Not to me,” Patton confessed softly. “I… I think I read you pretty well.”

Virgil hated feeling exposed but there was something about Patton’s soft words and how he seemed to radiate kindness that made Virgil feel safe.

“Yeah?” Virgil asked, curious.

Patton nodded.

“Tell me,” Virgil requested.

Patton looked at Logan and Roman for a beat before his eyes settled back at Virgil. Virgil wasn’t sure what he could read in his eyes or his energy right now but Patton smiled and Virgil felt like everything was going to be okay.

“You’re a lost witch. You’re running but you don’t know from what. For the first time in a long time, you find yourself pausing. Because of this place, and because of us,” Patton said and looked at his two boyfriends. “You’re gay and a witch and you’ve never let anyone close enough to see you before.”

“Damn,” Virgil said, feeling almost a little choked up. He had asked for it but it was something vulnerable to be laid bare like that, so easily. He was happy that Logan had said that Patton was an expert in reading others and most people would never be able to see all of this.

“Too much?” Patton asked, instantly sounding worried.

“No. No, it’s not,” Virgil said and shook his head. “Not too much.”

“You would be safe here, Virgil,” Patton said. “No matter if you do like us, or would even want to be in something that must look so complicated to you right now, I need you to understand one thing. We would accept you either way. You wouldn’t have to keep running anymore.”

Virgil’s armor cracked and he cried for the first time in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so we got all four boys together. It was so much fun to write all of them talking back and forth. Virgil is a little shy and still mostly watching but he just likes to look at them in awe because they represent everything that he thought he could never have. But the twist is that he can if he lets himself. Next chapter is the final one, however I must confess that I'm now also toying with the idea of making an epilogue at some point down the line. 
> 
> Next update is planned to be on Friday, at some point before midnight my time (I'll likely have to write the whole chapter the same day, 'cause I'm out of pre-written stuff for PEDIA).
> 
> Comments make me really happy, thank you to anyone who leaves them.


	4. Fight the anxiety

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Virgil finds himself suddenly being taken in by the three witches who one by one had started to capture his heart. With a curse looming overhead, he decides to stick around to help and in turn they insist on teaching him all the witch things he never got to learn. Virgil only falls more and more in love, but can he quiet his anxiety and go for it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for any errors, it's going up unedited to meet the schedule. Please enjoy!

Virgil didn’t realize that had had been crying until he saw a tear escape from his cheek and fall onto his pants. For a split second he thought it might have started raining but it was just the one drop. Virgil lifted his hoodie sleeves to wipe under his eyes.

Patton, Logan and Roman was still watching him. They didn’t seem demanding, or impatient. Well, Roman looked a little impatient, bouncing on his feet now but he still didn’t say anything either. It was like they were giving Virgil a space to figure out how to proceed.

The only issue was that Virgil didn’t know how he wanted to proceed. He had never felt like that before. He had always had something that had propelled him forward. He had always had something he was running from, but now three lovely gay witches were telling him that he could stop running if he wanted to.

It was a lot. He wasn’t sure what to say.

Patton seemed to be the first to realize that he was frozen in his indecision.

“Why don’t we head back to the potion shop?” Patton suggested. “Then we can rest up.”

“Yes,” Logan agreed quickly. “I will make you another hot chocolate with sprinkles if you would like that.”

“You broke out the sprinkles for this guy?” Roman said, and he sounded almost offended. Virgil braced himself for harsh words but then Roman just kept smiling. “Damn, Virge, you must have really impressed Logan for him to give you my special sprinkles.”

“Oh, I’m sor-”

“What? No! Do not apologize! I am merely offended that I didn’t get to offer them to you first. Logan is sneaky flirting,” Roman said and he sounded absolutely delighted.

Logan sounded worried. “I was not _flirting_ , Virgil, please to not think I would try to flirt when you were in a vulnerable position and asking for help, I would never-”

“Okay, okay, settle down, kiddos,” Patton said and grabbed both his boyfriends by their arms and shook them slightly. “You’re terrifying poor Virgil.”

But Virgil didn’t actually feel terrified, he felt almost giddy. He had never quite met anyone like these three and he found himself just wanting to stay in their company and learn more about them. He was so intrigued, he had so many questions but he wasn’t sure if the offer to stay was an actual one.

They might like him now, but they didn’t know him. He was still worried that they wouldn’t want anything to do with him when they realized that he wasn’t all that great. But then again, they had already seen several of his flaws.

“Actually, Virgil’s expressions seem quite stable,” Logan remarked.

“Err… yeah, I’m okay,” Virgil said, and started to get to his feet but he winced as he got up. He must have been tossed around by the chimera more than he had realized. “But what do we do about that?”

Logan, Roman and Patton all turned to look at the dead chimera.

“Oh, it’s not dead,” Logan said.

Patton moved to stand behind Roman.

“Excuse me?”

“The chimera is a beast that it summoned and controlled, by another witch or warlock. It is fueled by magical energy. You did not kill it for it cannot truly die. You merely severed its connection with whomever is controlling it. It will wake up and wander off, free for now. The question is instead why a chimera is this near our home in the first place,” Logan said and then levelled Roman with a look. “Roman?”

“Why are you looking at me? I didn’t do anything!” Roman protested, but it sounded more panicked than anything.

“Roman,” Logan repeated.

“Okay, fine! I may have pissed off a warlock while I went to deliver the dragon egg. He said something about ruin upon me and my family and shit-”

“Language,” Patton interjected.

“But he was clearly joking!” Roman continued, undeterred. “He can’t be that mad at me, just because the dragon egg hatched early and I spent two days of the travel bonding with the little fellow.”

“The little fellow?” Logan asked. “The future battle dragon that the head warlock wanted you to deliver?”

Virgil watched with mounting worry.

“Was the baby dragon cute?” Patton asked, ignoring Logan’s worried tone.

“So cute!” Roman said. “She was light grey, and her scales were so soft. She was a such a good girl.”

“Battle dragon,” Logan corrected.

“She was a baby!”

“I’m assuming you babied her then?” Logan asked and Roman nodded in confirmation. “Yes, of course that made the warlock mad at you. The first few days of a dragon’s life is instrumental to its temperament. Dragons are extremely adaptive creatures and they analyze how they should act based on their surroundings. A dragon that has been treated softly its first couple of days can never really learn to be a fierce battle dragon. You probably only condemned her to a horrible life.”

“Not exactly,” Roman said and he looked guilty.

Patton gasped and Virgil felt like he knew what had happened too, even if he hadn’t known Roman for more than an hour.

Logan still seemed clueless. “What does that mean?”

“You brought the dragon back, didn’t you?” Virgil asked.

Roman snapped his fingers, and pointed at Virgil.

“See? He’s really smart, can we please keep him?” Roman said.

“Where is she?” Patton asked and looked around.

“You did not bring the dragon back,” Logan said, repeating the words like that might make him believe them. “You did not bring back the dragon that was carefully and meticulously bred for this region’s head warlock. You absolutely did not.”

Virgil felt like he was missing out on a lot by now having been in witch politics at all. He hadn’t even been sure that there were still any dragons alive. A lot of people thought that they had been extinct.

Roman put his hands up to his lips and let out a loud whistle.

Patton, Logan and Virgil waited in anticipation. Something stirred from the nearby bushes and moments later, a chubby and very soft looking dragon came trotting out. It was the size of a medium-sized dog already, even if it couldn’t have been very old.

“Look at you, good girl!” Roman said, pleased as she walked over to his side and gently bobbed her head against him. Roman reached into his jacket and pulled out what must have been a great. She nibbled on it carefully.

Virgil was busy watching the dragon in awe. He hadn’t seen many magical creatures up close but not many people had seen dragons in real life. They were so elusive and rare that many people believed them to be extinct. Virgil wondered how many were even alive.

“She is a baby,” Patton said, falling to his knees and holding her head in his hands.

“Patton, you should be caref- and she’s licking your face,” Logan said, rolling his eyes. He looked a little mad but also too touched by the soft display.

“Ah, your tongue is a little rough but thank you,” Patton said, softly patting the young dragon’s head.

“She is just over a week old and she is domesticated, Roman,” Logan said in a chastising tone. “Do you have any idea how much trouble we’re in? You were picked to deliver the egg because you have a trusted record but that’s all over now. We are in real trouble. I think the chimera is just the beginning.”

“Oh, you worry too much, honey,” Roman said.

Logan pointed a finger at him. “Do not try to soften me up with cutesy nicknames, Roman. It will not work!”

“Logan poo?” Patton asked, still patting the dragon.

“Yes, Patton?”

“Why can he do it? This is unfair!” Roman protested.

“We can’t do anything about it now,” Patton said. “We just have to accept that we have a new pet! And that’s lovely. We’ll work everything else out.”

“Patton, Roman, you realize we cannot just keep a dragon. Her body will grow to the width of an elephant and the length of a crocodile and her wingspan will be from one side of the water fall to the other.”

“Oh, she gets that large?” Roman said.

“Can I just say that I’m really proud of you for describing it in easy to understand terms instead of all of those numbers you usually throw around?” Patton said.

Logan reached up to pinch his brow and he looked very stressed. Virgil could relate. It was like Patton and Roman hadn’t really grasped the seriousness of this situation and it sounded bad.

“Guys,” Virgil said, even if he wasn’t sure he should be allowed to butt in. “You have to listen to Logan; this sounds really serious. I… I can understand wanting to save the dragon, but this sounds bad. That chimera was terrifying and if there’s more heading this way like that? It’s a serious matter.”

“Oh, yeah, we’re definitely keeping him,” Logan said and shot Virgil a smile. “I need an ally against these two.”

Virgil felt himself smile again and Logan looked about ready to apologize but Virgil shook his head and said that it was okay. He didn’t actually mind those kinds of remarks as surreal as they felt to hear. It made Virgil feel wanted in a way that he never had felt wanted before.

Patton smiled at him softly, almost knowingly.

“Why don’t we all five head back to the potion shop and we figure out how to go from there?” Patton suggested and everyone agreed that it was a good idea.

Virgil soon found himself back on the bench along the wall, another hot chocolate in front of him. Roman had insisted on drizzling in the sprinkles this time and he had done it from such a height that they had sprinkled all over the table more than the drink. Logan had been able to scold him for making a mess in front of a guest but with a swipe of his hand, Roman made all the wayward sprinkles disappear.

It was so odd to see magic used so casually. Even when Virgil had heard about other witches, he had been berated that one should only use their magic for good and grand purposes. Clearly, the potion shop witches did not think so.

“Wait, so you all live here?” Virgil asked, sipping his hot chocolate.

Patton had sat down next to him and Logan was up at the desk, thumbing through a book, while Roman was sat on the floor with the dragon in his lap. She was making an almost purring like sound and it was entirely too adorable for a creature that had been bred to be a battle machine. As much as Virgil was anxious about what the dragon theft might mean for the witches and the rest of the village, he couldn’t really blame Roman. If he had been in the possession of the dragon egg and it had hatched, then he wasn’t sure he could treat such a gentle creature harshly just to ensure it would be able to kill without remorse years down the line.

Virgil had seen too much cruelty to ever intentionally be cruel to anyone else, let alone a new born creature who had not done anything wrong.

“We all live here, yes,” Patton confirmed. “It was always my dream to have my own little shop, but I never knew what I wanted to sell. I just knew I wanted a shop and I wanted to live above it and share it with people I love. When I found out what a brilliant and genius potion maker Logan was, it was like everything clicked into place.”

“You are flattering me, Patton,” Logan said.

“But it is true, squishkins, you are a genius. You have made dozens and dozens of original potion recipes,” Roman charmed in.

“I’m still mad at you,” Logan mumbled, still looking through his book, but his lip twitched a little, like he wanted to smile. Virgil had a feeling that Logan wouldn’t stay mad for long.

“Anyway, we opened up this place about five years ago, when we realized that we could combine our talents. I could run the shop and Logan could make the potions; it was the perfect partnership. Well, almost. Roman came into the shop one day when we had only been open for a couple of months and then things got even better.”

“What did you need?” Virgil asked Roman.

“I used to work as an errand boy, which is about as glamorous as it sounds. But rich old witches will pay young witches to fetch them things from the far corners of the world. I longed for adventure and getting out of my small town so I embraced it. I had thought I would do it for a long time, as it gave me plenty chance to travel and learn new things, but then I came to this shop and I never left. I found Patton and Logan and realized I wanted to grow roots here.”

“Was it because we rooted for you?” Patton asked, winking.

It was a bad joke but Roman still chuckled heartedly, Logan smiled and Virgil could feel something loosening in his chest. It was desire. Not just for the three witches, he had been aware of that already. No, this was a desire to be a part of their situation.

“You’re cute, sweetcheeks,” Roman said fondly, directed at Patton but since Virgil was sitting so close, it almost felt like he was saying it to him too. He tried not to noticed the heat rising in his cheeks.

“You are lucky we love you so much, Roman,” Logan said. “Coming home with a dragon. I much prefer the flower you brought in last time.”

“Oh, yes! That was so cute! Let me go get it,” Patton said and got up from his seat. “I want to show Virgil. It reminds me of him.”

“I remind you of a flower?” Virgil asked, a little baffled and touched.

“Everyone reminds me of flowers,” Patton said, doing a twirl in the middle of the room just because. “It’s an occupational hazard for a plant inclined kitchen witch like me but you remind me of a very special and rare flower.”

Patton disappeared up the stairs, and Virgil was left sipping his chocolate. The only other sounds that could be heard was Roman softly petting the dragon in his lap and Logan turning over pages. The domesticity of it was nearly doing Virgil’s head in. It was placing such a deep yearning in his chest. This wasn’t fair.

Patton came back down the stairs skipping, with a potted plant clutched tightly in his hands. There was a rhythm and a joy to even his steps and Virgil wondered if Roman and Logan could ever feel sad when they had someone like Patton around.

“This is one of our most prized possessions,” Patton said and carefully set the flower down on the table. It was a soft purple flower and the petals looked so soft that Virgil almost wanted to reach out to touch. He put his hands into his hoodie’s pouch to keep his hands from wandering and ruining anything.

It was not a flower that he had ever seen before, almost bell-shaped but not quite, and the delicate lines in the flower made Virgil just want to keep staring at it until he had memorized every bit.

“Strobilanthes kunthiana,” Logan said.

“Or just kurinji, if you’re not pretentious,” Roman teased.

“I like to call it the shy flower,” Patton said and looked at Virgil. “That’s why it reminds me of you.”

“Me?” Virgil asked.

“The strobilanthes kunthiana blooms only once every 12th year and only in a very specific suburb in South India. It is a magnificent sight and one Patton and I travelled to see 13 years ago when we were just teenagers.”

“It was very romantic,” Patton said.

“Shush, we weren’t even dating then,” Logan said and he was flustered enough that he stopped thumbing through his book.

“No, but I knew you liked me,” Patton said with a wink. “Logan and I grew up together. It took a while for us to work out that the other was a witch too. It was not something that you were supposed to shout about when you were our age. You know.”

“I do,” Virgil said, because sadly he was all to familiar about the concept.

“But then when we did find out, it was like the best thing in the world. We had each other’s backs even more and grew closer. When Logan told me about the kurinji flower bloom, I said I would love to go sometime. We found out it would bloom that year and if we missed it, it would be another twelve years and then who know where we might be. We went.”

“And then twelve years later, I made the journey too, to get them a flower they could keep,” Roman said, proudly. “I had worked on perfecting a preservation spell so that it would stay in bloom and just not wither. A symbol of our eternal love.”

Virgil smiled but he couldn’t shake the question turning in his head. He wondered if it was the wrong time to ask this, or if maybe he should only ask Roman but he had to get it out now, if he didn’t get another chance.

He was so curious and the yearning in his chest was growing deeper.

“How does the three of you work, together, I mean? If Logan and Patton were already together when Roman came along, how…?”

“How did they fit wonderful me into the relationship?” Roman said and did a pose with his hands again. He did it slower than out in the meadow, because the baby dragon was now softly snoring in his lap.

“Yes,” Virgil confirmed. “I suppose.”

“Every type of relationship can be maintained with enough healthy communication,” Logan said. “Both Patton and I realized that we had developed feelings for Roman and we talked about it together and with him and then the three of us decided to try being in a relationship together. We have been happy for years.”

“You could sound more excited about it, Logan,” Roman complained.

“I am excited. This is my excited voice,” Logan said, completely monotone. “How could I not be, when I’ve had the luck of finding not just one but more people to love?”

As Logan spoke, he was looking mostly at Roman and Patton but his eyes swept over Virgil too, almost in a silent question. A promise of something. Virgil also noticed how he chose to say not just one but _more_ , instead of specifying that it was two. It was way too early for anything but the fact that all of them, seemed serious about this linking him business was a bit much.

He had not expected to get attention like this. A part of him, deep in the pit of his stomach, was screaming at him to not let this chance pass him by. It wasn’t anything yet but it felt like it could be something. Virgil had always steered away from dating, too worried that dating men would mean he had to come out to them and also too worried that him being a witch would scare them away.

It wouldn’t be an issue here. For the first time in his life, it wouldn’t be an issue.

He was pretty sure his gut was right in saying that he shouldn’t be throwing away this opportunity, as unlikely as it seemed. Virgil drank the rest of his hot chocolate.

“Aha! I found it,” Logan said triumphantly and picked up the no doubt thousand-page book that he had been looking through since they got back to the potion shop.

“What was you looking for in that thick book?” Patton asked.

“Patton we discussed this, it’s pronounced thick,” Roman said with a smirk.

“Or sorry, yes, thicc book then,” Patton said and looked for approval from Roman.

Logan seemed skeptical and he eyed Roman but he didn’t say anything. Virgil sent Roman a grimace of a face but Roman just lifted his finger to his lips, telling Virgil not to say anything.

“I was looking for punishments under the old code, so I know what to prepare us for,” Logan said.

“Do you really think the old geezer would go-”

“Yes, Roman. I do, because I remember him from when I took one of his classes and he is not a man to be messed with, which I warned you about before you accepted this dragon egg quest.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault little Glinda was ready before anyone thought,” Roman protested.

“That’s a lame name,” Virgil said.

“Fine, I can do better,” Roman said.

“Later,” Logan said, “even if I must object, I do not think we should be naming a creature that we cannot keep, but that is also a fight for another time. Let’s see here. Failure to comply with a direct mission bestowed upon you from your region’s warlock will…”

“What? What is it?” Patton asked trying to look over Logan’s shoulder. “This is all in old cursive, I can’t read it. Logan what does it say?”

Logan stepped back from the book grabbing his head. Roman looked anxious to get up from his spot on the floor and look on it himself but he seemed not to want to disturb the sleeping dragon. There was a proverb somewhere that probably supported him.

Virgil leaned over to read across the open page. It was cursive and old fashioned but Virgil had a brief calligraphy period when he was a teenager. He had just liked the style could be so emo and pretty at the same time. It made handwriting fun instead of just something for the sake of getting words down.

He could read the text but he couldn’t make much sense of what the words meant.

“Failure to comply with a direct mission bestowed upon you from your region’s warlock will result in a calamity curse on both you and your family,” Virgil read. “What’s a calamity curse?”

Patton looked scared now. Logan had started pacing. Roman had gone very tense, but he was the one who replied.

“It is a disaster level curse that will target both your life, your home and those you have dear,” Roman said, voice more serious than Virgil had ever heard him before. He nudged the baby dragon softly out of his lap, and she flopped over on her back without much protest. Her adorableness took away from the seriousness of the situation for only a moment.

Roman read the text too.

“But surely that can’t be true. He wouldn’t go by the old code; no witches do that anymore.”

“Yes, they do,” Logan said. “The old and powerful still like to lean on it.”

“Well, he already sent the chimera so that should be all the punishment we would have to deal with, right?” Roman said, clearly trying to make the bad situation better but keeping a positive attitude.

Virgil knew he should be tugging tail and running the hell away from this. It was more than he bargained for, much more but he couldn’t even entertain the idea. He had spent his whole life running away from trouble but now, he found that he wanted to stay. It had to mean something. 

“No,” Logan said, solemnly. “I’m guessing that was just a warning, or maybe he had hoped to weaken you or teach you specifically a lesson about why it is so important to him that creatures can be vicious and controlled.”

“But that’s so sad,” Patton said. “Can’t just be friends?”

Virgil kind of wanted to give Patton a hug. He wished the world could work like that, but even if he knew little about the witch world, he knew that the world as a whole was a cruel place. Nothing could be sunshine and rainbows all of the time.

“The curse will come,” Logan said, “and it can come in any shape or form. I don’t even know how to start preparing for that.”

Patton and Roman both looked worried but they nodded in agreement. Logan turned to Virgil.

“I understand this is not your problem at all, Virgil. Do you need help to get back to town?” Logan asked.

“No,” Virgil said. “I don’t need help and you’re right it’s not my problem either but… but, what if I wanted to help? I’m not sure I could do much but I want to try to help if I can.”

Logan, Patton and Roman all looked a little taken aback by this but soon they were smiling at him warmly.

“We would love that, kiddo,” Patton said. “It sounds like we’re going to need all the help we can get.”

“Are you up for an adventure with us, fair knight?” Roman asked, winking.

“Adventure is going a little far,” Logan said, “but we would be happy to have your help.”

And just like that, Virgil was accepted into their planning. The fact that they did it so organized, knowing which books to dig out and finding old strategies, told Virgil that it wasn’t the first time that the trio had pissed off someone more powerful. Roman was usually one responsible for it, but once or twice it had also been Logan’s fault. Patton was the only one who didn’t seem to be able to start conflicts with anyone, but he was accidentally dragged along with both Roman and Logan’s drama.

They had offered to put Virgil up on the pull-out couch in Logan’s lab, and Virgil had tried to protest at first before he realized that he had been pulling on the innkeeper’s kindness for too long. He accepted the boys’ offer, even if it felt quite intimate and domestic to be suddenly living with three roommates.

Three roommates who shared a bed, which Virgil tried not to think about. He was pretty sure there was a soundproofing spell on the room at least, so he didn’t have to hear any activities or conversations going on in there.

It was a small blessing and Virgil took it.

Still, it was weird to suddenly be around people at all times. It made his head feel a little fuzzy and he ended up taking a lot of walks around town. While the trio tried to prepare for whatever curse Roman might have brought onto them, they were trying to teach Virgil how to be a witch. They all said that him learning more about himself and feeling in contact with his inner witch was probably the best he could do to be ready to help.

It meant history and potion lessons with Logan, hand-to-hand combat training and simple spell casting with Roman and lastly meditation and establishing your contact to nature with Patton. He found everything difficult at first and he was usually exhausted at the end of the day, but he had also never felt better.

He was actively learning about being a witch for the first time in his life and he was improving. He could feel his control improving and the more he learned about witches and how they worked, the more centered he felt.

The time he spent with Patton was surprisingly the hardest. Patton wasn’t exactly a good teacher even if he meant well. He spoke about sensations and feelings that Virgil just couldn’t grasp, even if he tried. Virgil wasn’t sure what it meant to feel out his energy.

Patton would usually sit crosslegged on the ground and then all the flowers and bushes and even the grass around him would try to inch closer, like he was their own personal sun and they just wanted to bask in his ambiance. Virgil related but he wasn’t like Patton, he didn’t feel like he worked like that.

He was grasping the witch history and some simple potions, even if it was complicated and tedious work, and he was even getting better at blocking Roman’s attacks and he could do like two spells now, but _this_ was still stopping him.

“I’ll never learn,” Virgil mumbled, feeling a little bit like a toddler throwing a tantrum, even if he was trying to tone it down. It wasn’t fair if he took his frustrations out on Patton.

Patton who cooked meals for the four of them most nights, Patton who always made sure to walk by the lab and tell Virgil good night and sweet dreams, and Patton who showered him with hugs and gentle squeezes to the point that it was starting to feel comfortable and warm after just a week of staying at the potion shop.

“You will get it,” Patton said, hand on Virgil’s shoulder and there was another gentle squeeze. Virgil leaned tentatively into the touch, still testing the waters, but he was always met with warmth and understanding.

It was a new feeling but one that was starting to wrap him up so wonderfully. It was different from Roman’s constant cheesy pick-up lines or Logan suddenly showing up with a miniature dissertation on weather witches with a focus on storm witches, but it was the same kind of warmth. Virgil could feel the love from all of them and he wasn’t sure what to do about his heart wanting to reject all of this positive attention.

He wanted to be mean and say he didn’t deserve it, but the three witches were just being kind people. He wasn’t sure it had anything to do with him in particular.

“I’ll never be like the three of you,” Virgil said, self-deprecating without realizing it. It was not the end of it. He not only felt like he would never be like any of them, he also didn’t feel like he would ever fit in with them. He felt like the odd one out, even as they had carved out a space for him and they were continuing to do so.

Patton came and sat next to him, even if the ground was wet from when Virgil had accidentally summoned a rain cloud earlier. Patton didn’t seem to mind.

“You don’t need to be like any of us,” Patton said. “You just need to be you. You need to figure out who _you_ are. That’s all we want from you.”

“But why?” Virgil asked a little hopelessly. “Why do you care?”

Patton hummed. “Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we saw something in you that caught our interest. Not like romantic interest, or at least not only that. I mean, you’re cute. We like you; I think we established that, but more than that it’s just… you have this energy about you. I can read it better than Logan and Roman and it’s just like you’re this little supernova and it feels so intriguing and lovely at the same time. I took one look at you and thought you were something I needed in my life. That was why I was trying so desperately to befriend you, when I thought you were running away before I even had a chance to talk to you.”

“Wait, really?” Virgil asked.

“Yes,” Patton said.

“But I almost killed you,” Virgil said.

“Yes, but it is in the past. I have left it in the past, I have forgiven you for the accident. I understand it. You should try to do the same. I don’t blame you and neither does Logan or Roman. Now, let’s try to get you to water my plants again, come on.”

Virgil hung in there and after another week, he did feel like he was more in touch with himself. Even Logan seemed to notice so.

“It’s really nice to have such a diligent student,” Logan commented. “Patton and Roman care little about the early witch history.”

“It’s fascinating,” Virgil said truthfully. “And it’s helping me too. Understanding how a lot of different witches draw their power. My lessons with Patton are finally going better.”

“Yes, I noticed,” Logan said and reached up to adjust his glasses.

“Oh? I didn’t know you checked up on us,” Virgil said, feeling a little embarrassed.

“No, I don’t,” Logan said. “But I spend time with you and I can tell the difference. Patton doesn’t do this often but he has tried to help teach other witches with volatile powers control. You are the one who has grasped it the fastest though, so you should proud of yourself.”

Virgil felt like he had been dragging his feet all this time but he had been fast?

“Wait, I’m one of the fastest?”

“Yes,” Logan said. “Which is both a testament to you and Patton, it is difficult to teach and be taught when your affiliations don’t match up. You are impressing us greatly.”

Logan spoke in the same monotone voice he usually did but there as a layer of softness in it now that Virgil could detect after nearly two weeks together.

Virgil looked over at the little coffee table next to the pull-out couch which had been his bed for all this time. On it sat the potted plant that Patton had given him and it had never looked better. The color was more vibrant and it seemed to have grown faster than should be possible. Virgil put that down to the magic in all of this place.

Other villagers had taken notice of him too, it was inevitable when it was such a small place, but he found that all of them were just excited. A few teased him about being another boy to join the gays from the potion shop but it had all been good natured. Virgil had enough bad insults thrown at him to know the difference. These people were just nosy. The group of children now liked to come up to ask him to play because they found out that he would indulge them. One day he got so wrapped up in their playtime that he arrived late at his sparring session with Roman.

“Sorry,” he said, running up to the little training ground they had made by the waterfall. Roman had insisted on doing it here, since it was a ‘romantic and motivating setting’ even if Virgil had no idea what that meant. The chimera was long gone by now, and Virgil hadn’t seen it since they left it unconscious that day but he was still a little wary.

The baby dragon was growing rabidly and she was already the size of a big dog now. She was still unnamed since Roman had claimed rights to name her but Virgil kept shooting down his suggestions. It was a game now, but Virgil knew he would have to give in one day. Mostly, he just found it hilarious that Roman let him have this much control over him when he could just decide the name without Virgil’s approval.

And maybe it was the fact that he wanted Virgil approval that was a little endearing.

“Did you get swept up by your fan group again?” Roman asked, swinging a sword in a big and beautiful swoop.

Virgil had come close to telling Roman multiple times that he looked amazing with a sword but he had kept it quiet because he could not deal with the teasing or the mortification of having told him that.

“My what?”

“The children,” Roman said, softly, and put his sword back in its sheath. “You know, they used to be my biggest fan but I can see that I’ve been discarded for the next new hot piece of ass.”

He was acting overly dramatic, trying to get a ruse out of Virgil and it was kind of working, even if he was more endeared than annoyed.

“I very seriously doubt that the kids care about my ass,” Virgil said.

“But I care about your ass,” Roman said and he had the audacity to pout while saying so. Virgil kind of wanted to punch him but he also kind of wanted to kiss the pout away. He had learned he could contain that duality.

It was something that happened with the others too, even if it was a little different. At times, Virgil wanted to just coo at Patton being adorable and at other times he wanted to kiss him silly. With Logan, he sometimes wanted to pull him from his desk and send him off to bed and other times he wanted to kiss him until he forgot about the work. He was learning quite a lot about himself these weeks.

“You never give up on the flirting, do you?” Virgil said and moved into the fighting stance that Roman had taught him.

“Only when I think it’s not working, and it’s clearly working on you,” Roman said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Even so, he added a few more sincere words, “or if you want me to stop.”

It was a promise, and Virgil was surprised that he had already known that without Roman explicitly telling him before. Roman was all fun and games but he did respect boundaries and he only liked to push forward as long as the person was on the same page.

But the thing was that Virgil was on the same page, as both Roman, Patton and Logan. He was just scared to read the words.

“I’m not sure how that would even work,” Virgil said, purposely vague but Roman seemed to understand.

“I wasn’t either, you know,” he said moving in to strike Virgil. Virgil blocked it. He knew Roman liked to talk to try to distract him while practicing. This was nothing new, even if the topic was. “I was sure I’d ruin things between Lo and Pat because they seemed so perfectly in love. I thought I’d get in the way.”

Virgil had not expected to hear such an honest admission from Roman. He could also not imagine Roman being insecure like that but he had been learning that there was a lot more to the warrior witch than what first met the eye.

“But you didn’t?” Virgil said and placed a strike of his own. Roman expertly blocked it.

“I didn’t. They weren’t the same, of course. The dynamic shifted when I came into the picture but both of them told me that it was for the better. Patton likes to say that his heart can expand to give as much love as he needs to. He suggested we could have a dozen of boyfriends and he could love them all.”

It sounded so much like Patton. Virgil snorted, momentarily distracted and Roman used that to land a jab on his side.

“Meanie,” Virgil said with narrow eyes.

“Just keeping you on your toes,” Roman said gleefully. “But seriously, we’ve talked about it before. The idea of adding more if it came up. Logan was open to the idea as well, he said he had grown quite fond of the idea of multiple boyfriends and frankly he could not imagine why people would limit and close themselves off.”

“He’s a dork,” Virgil said.

“But he’s our dork. Could be yours too, you know,” Roman said. “We meant it when we said we liked you weeks ago but oh man, does we mean it even more now. You come up when we’re in the bedroom at night all the time.”

“What?” Virgil asked, dropping his hands from the defensive position. He could feel the blush climbing up his neck already.

“Where is your head at, Virge?” Roman asked with a wink. “Whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably not like that. Most of the time, it is Patton being worried that you’re lonely on the couch and how he wants you to come cuddle with all of us.”

Virgil’s heart felt like it fucking melted.

He felt so warm.

But something was off. It was not just the warmth of emotions. Virgil scanned his surroundings but he couldn’t see anything. The little meadow next to the waterfall was empty save for the dragon sleeping by the water. But in that moment, she got up from her sleeping position and came trotting over to Virgil and Roman.

She was ducking behind Roman a little.

Virgil didn’t like that. Roman was just delighted that she had come over for pets but her ears were pulled back and she didn’t look like she was having a good time. She looked anxious, and Virgil knew that look well enough to even recognize it in another species.

It had been over two weeks since Roman had returned and they had fought with the chimera. Other than Virgil training for control and getting caught up on all things witchy, the other three witches had started to do protective spells, develop potions and protective barriers. They had not forgotten about the supposed calamity curse coming for them but it had begun to feel less and less urgent as time moved on. They had started to lower their defenses just a little.

Virgil was sure that this was it.

“The curse,” he muttered. “I think the curse is here.”

“What?” Roman asked, jumping up from where he had knelt to pet the dragon. “Reese and I will not let that happen.”

“Not the name either, dude,” Virgil said as he kept looking around.

It was weird because his anxiety usually told him to look for things that weren’t real. He felt like so many things were out to get him but now that there might actually be something wrong, he felt like his vigilance gave him another edge.

He spotted the smoke from the volcano and he froze.

“What? Is it a beast?” Roman said, drawing his sword.

“The volcano,” Virgil said desperately. “It’s the volcano.”

“What? No, that’s impossible. Logan develops this potion that keeps it dormant and…” Roman said, but still turning to look at the volcano. The smoke started to roll out thicker. “Holy smokes, it’s actually the volcano. But that should not be possible!”

“A calamity curse includes natural disasters. If the curse caster is strong enough, they can also counter any magic already in existence, and the region’s warlock would be stronger than Logan, even as brilliant as he is.”

“Man, Logan must really be enjoying that someone is paying attention in his lessons,” Roman said with a grin.

“Not the time, come on, we need to get back to Logan. He’ll have a plan for this.”

They were not the only ones who had headed to the potion shop when the smoke had started to billow from the top of the volcano. Virgil could almost taste it in the air by the time they made it to the front door.

The other villagers were asking them what was going on, some gathered outside the door, and Virgil and Roman entered the potion shop to find that it was filled with every witch in the village.

There was wild chatter everywhere, slightly panicked, until Roman let out a loud and piercing whistle.

“What is the plan?” Virgil asked Logan as soon as everyone quieted down.

“Evacuation,” Logan said calmly and it stirred up loud protests from the other witches.

Patton was fidgeting next to Logan and he looked nervous, if he hadn’t been across a crowded room, Virgil would have pulled him into his arms.

Roman whistled again and everyone quieted down.

“It is the only thing we can do to this type of curse. I checked the levels for this, I have tried to develop a potion to counteract it but it is in progress now and we cannot stop it. The most we can do is evacuate, but our village and the town.”

“This is our homes,” one of the older witches said. “Our safe space.”

“You did this didn’t you?” one of the other witches said in an accusatory tone and he was pointing at Logan. “You and your growing harem.”

Patton gasped and spoke up for the first time. “That is no way to talk to us. I know you’re scared but you cannot say that about us.”

The witch immediately quieted down and looked a little ashamed.

“We don’t have time for this. It is a magical eruption; it will be upon us too soon. We need to move and we need to move now.”

At Logan’s words everyone got up and out. It was a little chaotic but considering the circumstances it was probably the best they could do.

“Did you know this was a possibility?” Virgil asked Logan when it was just them, Patton and Roman left.

“Yes, it was the worst scenario, because it is the only type of calamity curse that I did not have a solution for yet. I suspect the head warlock knows that.”

“He’s prepared to kill so many innocents over a dispute?” Virgil asked.

“Yes,” Logan said and he sounded sad. “For too many witches and warlock, honor is everything. They do not stand to be disrespected.”

“I can’t believe we’re going to lose all of this,” Patton said, gingerly touching the wall of the shop. “All our memories.”

“Oh, Patton,” Roman said and pulled him into his arms. “It’s okay.”

“Patton, I am so sorry this is happening,” Logan said. “I wish I could do something but we really must go.”

Patton didn’t look like he wanted to move, even if he knew that he would have to. Virgil wasn’t sure it was his place to say something but he wanted to help hurry Patton along as well as reassure him.

“Patton,” Virgil called softly. “I know how much you love this home, and all the memories made here but you still have the people you care about. That is the most important bit. We can make new memories somewhere else too, as long as we make it out.”

Patton was openly crying now, and he flung himself from Roman’s arms straight into Virgil’s.

“I’m going to hold you to that,” Patton said and hugged him hard.

They started to move after that, even if Roman mouthed a “we” at Virgil as they stepped out. Virgil flipped him off, he knew he what he had said. He knew he had indirectly included himself in Patton’s and all of their futures. It had happened accidentally but Virgil wasn’t about to take it back when it was the truth.

The village worked together to get everyone out safely and down the path. It was all going fine until they got to the foot of the volcano and they were met by a swarm of town’s people with pitchforks and torches. It looked like something out of Virgil’s nightmares.

Roman and Logan pushed to the front of the crowd, shielding their fellow villagers.

“What is going on here?” Roman asked. “Can you not see that you should be evacuating?”

“Evacuating? Stop this nonsense!” someone shouted from the back.

“We are here to kill your witches before you can escape,” someone with a pitchfork near the front shouted.

Virgil wanted to pull both Logan and Roman further away from them. Neither of those two would ever step back on their own. 

“This is not our work,” Logan said, talking to them as if they were idiots but to be fair they were acting kind of idiotic.

“I told you,” a familiar voice said and Virgil suddenly saw the innkeeper coming up to the front of the line wielding a broom but she was using it to hit the heads of her fellow town’s people instead of pointing them towards the witches and the villagers.

“But-”

“No, but!” she said and then turned towards Roman and Logan. “Roman dear, it is good to see you back.”

“It is good to see your smiling face. I am happy to see that you’re as wonderful as ever,” Roman said, grinning even in this situation.

“Logan,” the innkeeper asked, glaring over her shoulder for a beat when it sounded like someone else was about to open their mouths. “What do we do?”

“The only thing we can do is esca-”

Logan didn’t get to finish his sentence before something rumbled and suddenly the most horrible sound Virgil had ever heard occurred. It was almost a rumble, vibrate through the air and things felt too hot in the air almost immediately. The smoke had continued to billow as the villagers had descended but now there was lava getting thrown into the mix too and it was coming too fast.

Virgil could see it all for his inner eye. So many homes laid to ruin, lives lost even if they ran now and most of them might make it. Toxic fumes would linger in the area and kill everything from plants to animals. It was cruel, cruel curse even if it was a mimic of a natural disaster.

The rumble grew louder and it sounded almost like thunder.

It unlocked something in Virgil’s brain. An idea. Kind of a terrible idea but an idea all the same.

He turned around and started running back up the mountain.

“Virgil!” Patton called out after him.

“You’re going the wrong way, darling!” Roman yelled.

He didn’t hear Logan but he realized why when Logan suddenly appeared in front of him. Virgil stopped running out of sheer astonishment.

Roman seemed equally baffled. “LOGAN CAN TELEPORT? PATTON, DID YOU KNOW?”

“No! But that’s so cool!” Patton shouted.

Virgil’s chest was heaving and he was just looking at Logan even as he could hear Patton and Roman come running behind them.

“I have to do something,” Virgil said, combative and expecting Logan to argue. “It’s… I have to try. People might die. This whole place will be ruined. It’s- it can’t. I won’t let it. It’s the first place that has ever started to feel like home. I will not lose it. I will not lose any of you.”

“I know,” Logan said, calmly, because of course he could still be calm even when they were standing next to an active volcano that had been magically activated and might be specifically targeting them.

“What?” Virgil asked, all the fight draining out of him.

“I thought you would want to help, and frankly, you are the only one who could,” Logan said and dug into his pocket to pull out a vial. “This should help you focus your powers towards rain rather than lightening. Both are qualities in storm witches but you seem to lean naturally towards lightening. I wanted you to have this if you needed it.”

“Wait, you made this? For me? You believed in me that much?”

“Yes,” Logan said, no-nonsense.

Patton and Roman reached them and looked back and forth between them.

“Okay. Whole thing?” Virgil asked and Logan nodded. Virgil took the vial, opened and tossing it all into his mouth.

“Are you sure about this?” Patton asked, coming up behind him to give him a back hug. Patton held on so tightly and Virgil wondered if Patton was trying to transfer some of his energy.

“Do you need assistance?” Roman asked, also having caught onto what happened.

“No,” Virgil said. “I just need… just all of you stay nearby? I should probably be telling you to run for cover but-”

“Virgil, we would not leave you even if you begged us to do so,” Logan said.

“Yes, kiddo. We’re in this together,” Patton said.

“You’re one of us now, and we stay by our own,” Roman added.

Virgil felt so emotionally overwhelmed but right now that felt like a good thing. He gestured with his hand for the other three witches to step back and then he sunk onto his knees and tried to combine everything he had learned.

He thought of the autonomy of a witch and how magic would flow through their system. He thought of how to control his body to make it do what he wanted. He thought of his connection to his element.

There was a rumble in the air again, but this time it wasn’t the volcano. Virgil could feel the difference. He balled his hands into fists and he grabbed onto that magical energy he could feel all around him.

A beat later, lightening started to crawl up and down his arms but he let it stay there, gearing him up.

“Come on, come on,” he whispered under his breath. “Rain, we need rain. Lots of it.”

Another rumble but this time it was the volcano. Virgil felt a little insane. If anyone had asked him what he would be doing three weeks ago, he would have said that he would be out wandering like always. Moving from one town to the next, like none of it mattered.

Instead, he was here with his knees in the dirt, fighting for a place and people he hadn’t even known until recently. But time didn’t seem to factor into this, not when he felt like something had opened in his heart here. He felt the potential of this place. He wanted to save it.

For three witches who had all been working their way into his heart and for himself.

Despite all of the witch training, none of them had thought that Virgil was experienced enough to play around with commandeering a storm just yet. It was something they had talked about it down the road.

There was no longer any down the road, just this moment. Virgil took a deep breath and closed his eyes and then he let himself go. He let himself feel everything, the magic in his veins and the love in his heart that he had been too scared to voice. It burned bright and overwhelming and Virgil felt the lightening dance all over his skin now, jumping around him, but it wasn’t hurting.

It felt right, like he was finally done rejecting the parts of himself that he had been so scared to acknowledge. For the first time ever, something unlocked inside of him. It had taken him a long time to get there, decades before he could let himself bloom.

He suddenly understood what Patton had meant about him being like the kurinji flower.

Virgil bowed his head and he felt the rain begin to fall around him. Light drops at first but then the downpour came. The lightening dancing around him seemed to fade, from what he could feel but he was too scared to open his eyes to look. He just let himself feel the rain.

He let it pour. Out of the sky and out of himself, he stopped holding back. He stopped pretending to be someone he wasn’t. He almost wanted to laugh with joy at the weight that seemed to lift off his shoulders.

He became soaked to the bone, but none of that mattered. The water felt cleansing and most importantly Virgil knew it would fight the smoke and the lava and the eruption, in a way that normal rain wouldn’t. This wasn’t normal rain; this was rain commandeered by a storm witch.

A gay storm witch who finally knew who he was and where he belonged. 

Virgil lost track of how long he let the rain cascade over the land but he felt that it started to ease up all on its own after a while. He finally opened his eyes and tilted his head towards the sky. He felt exhausted and too wet to even think of moving, but the sky was clear. Grey skies were parting and evaporating just as quickly as they had been called and the smoke was gone.

Virgil let out one of the most joyous sounds that he had ever done.

But it was quite nothing to the sound of excited shouts and the feeling of being knocked to the ground as someone barreled into him.

His arms closed around Patton who was hugging him so tight that it almost hurt. Virgil could feel that they both were soaking wet but he couldn’t care less. Patton was giggling and holding him and Virgil found himself joining in.

“You really shouldn’t be on the wet ground,” Logan said, gently grabbing both of them by the arms and helping them stand.

“Spoilsport,” Roman commented and suddenly he was pulling all of them into a four-way hug. Virgil had never quite felt so loved and it got the better of him.

He learned that he became impulsive when he was in love. He leaned out to kiss Patton, who was the closest to him. He caught himself as he pulled back from the soft press of lips and he had a single second of terror when he realized that he had just kissed Patton in front of his two boyfriends.

But Logan and Roman didn’t look mad, and Patton was staring at him in awe.

“I…” Virgil said, unsure how to continue that sentence. He wasn’t sure if he should apologize or explain.

“Kiss them too,” Patton said gently, hand on the small of Virgil’s back. “It’s okay, we all like you.”

Virgil had never been so thankful for Patton being able to read his energy and the question he hadn’t dared to ask outright. He was sure his ears must be turning red, but he still learned into Logan and kissed him too. Kissing Logan was different from kissing, Patton’s lips were softer and he melted more into it, while kissing Logan was firmer but just as lovely.

When he pulled back from Logan, who had an almost goofy smile on his face, Virgil turned to Roman.

“You better not leave me out,” Roman said, threateningly but he was smiling so wide.

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” Virgil said and leaned in to kiss Roman too. Roman was different yet again, the one who pushed back the most, kissing almost like it was a competition.

Virgil pulled back and decided that he didn’t have a favorite. He liked all of the kisses for different reasons but they all left him with the same safe and loved feeling in his heart.

“Stellar work, Virgil,” Logan complimented. “You stopped the curse.”

“Oh, right,” Virgil said, looking up towards the top of the volcano. It had only happened moments ago but sharing kisses with three of his dream men had messed with his head a little.

“Can we take this as an indication that you want to date?” Patton asked softly, touching his fingertips to his own lips. “Do you want to date us?”

“Please say so, or you will break all of our hearts,” Roman said. “We have been yearning for you.”

“Don’t pressure him,” Logan scolded. “He should not make his decision out of pity.”

“I am not pressuring him,” Roman argued. “I am making sure he has all the facts and the facts are that you two are just as smitten as I am but you’re just scared to say it.”

“I’m, I’m not s-scared to say it,” Patton said, stammering a little, and then looking at Virgil shyly.

“Certainly not,” Logan said and then turned to Virgil. “I like you. We all like you.”

Virgil was smiling so much just watching the three of them argue about how much they liked him and how much they wanted to date him. It was making his heart feel so full and he wondered how he had gotten this lucky.

“So… what do you say, dear Virgil?” Roman asked.

Patton, Logan and Roman all looked at him, waiting in anticipation.

There was only one answer that Virgil could give them.

“Yes,” he said. “Yes, of course. I want to date you. You’re all I’ve ever wished for. A home. A place to belong. Someone to love me for all that I am. A reason to stop wandering. Yes. My answer is yes.”

Suddenly, Virgil was wrapped up in three pair of arms again, with someone kissing his cheek, someone stroking his hair and someone taking his hand. He laughed heartedly and without restriction.

Virgil hadn’t believed in _happy ever afters_ while growing up but these three witches might just change his mind. This felt like the beginning of the best chapter of his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Reblog on tumblr](https://secretlywritingstories.tumblr.com/post/625814560109182977/shy-like-a-kurinji-flower-sanders-sides-witch-au)
> 
> And so we are at the end! Did any of you think the volcano was going to play a part in all of this? I certainly didn't when I first wrote it but the idea came to me as I was writing the penultimate chapter and then it would not leave me. I hope you liked this! I'm kind of tempted to add an epilogue at some point, so let me know if you'd want to see that.  
> Any comments are very welcome and thank you so much for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Ah! What did you think? I've missed writing Virgil and man, boy isn't even ready for what's going to hit him. These three special boys are just waiting to come into his life and show him that his upbringing doesn't have to be the way he is supposed to life. I hope you liked this first chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments.
> 
> This story will run on a weekly schedule, updating every Friday around 8 PM CEST.
> 
> I'm currently doing PEDIA (Posting Every Day In August) so I'm going to be uploading loads, not anymore Sanders Sides works unfortunately but if you like Phan or BTS, I might have something for you.


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